Despite some opposition, Fort Erie moving ahead with heritage designations

It’s not a done deal, but if a property owner opposes the Town of Fort Erie designating their home or part of their home as a heritage site, they’re going to have to explain with specific reasons why.

Council approved four staff reports at the August 12 council-in-committee meeting that recommended heritage designation of properties or partial properties in town. Of the four sites, two received opposition from the owners. 

“I don’t want to tell people what they can do with their property, although we do that all the time,” said Mayor Wayne Redekop, comparing heritage designations to many of the other rules and restrictions municipalities place on residents.

“I don’t want to tell people what they can or can’t do when they’re out and about, although we do that all the time. And I don’t want to tell them how much they have to give us in taxes, but we do that every year.” 

Heritage designation puts protections on certain parts of a home or property that a municipality deems culturally or historically significant. Provincial legislation allows for it and municipalities across Ontario have designated properties.

While the Town attempts to get property owners on board before designating, that doesn’t always happen. Some councillors believe in those situations it’s enough to end a designation question.

“I will never support a heritage designation on a property where the owner doesn’t want it,” said Councillor Ann-Marie Noyes.

In addition to going against a homeowner’s wishes, she argued heritage aspects of a property can still be protected without designation since most people who buy these types of homes do so because they enjoy the historical feel.

She suggested in these cases it may be best to wait until the home is sold and see if the new owner is more willing.

Councillor George McDermott agreed, suggesting “there’s a million reasons why (a person would oppose designation) and some of them you may never know, because it’s personal.”

“I don’t want to put a person in a position where it’s going to disrupt their income, their bill paying.”

However, supporters pointed out that the Town has made protection of both natural and cultural heritage a priority.

“We’re either going to protect our architectural heritage or we’re not…and I want to protect it,” Redekop said.

Councillor Nick Dubanow also said the reports they approved at the meeting doesn’t mean it’s the end of the process. Property owners have an objection period where they can lodge their opposition. Even after any heritage bylaws are passed by the municipality homeowners can appeal to the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT).

“We’re not the final say here on this,” Dubanow said, adding any homeowner who comes with specific, credible reasoning as to why their property shouldn’t be designated will have a sympathetic ear from him.

A separate report at the meeting included just that, with the owners of a Ridge Road North property officially objecting to an intent to designate. Staff will be reaching out to the homeowner to ask them to come up with specific reasoning ahead of consideration of the bylaw to designate.

Redekop said some designation decisions may simply have to play out at the OLT. While it’ll cost the Town time and money, he suggested that might be the price to pay to protect history and if the Town’s decisions are based on sound rationale, then the OLT should agree.

However, he did acknowledge there can be hardships placed on the owners of designated properties. To alleviate that, Fort Erie has two programs. The first is a property tax rebate and the second is a grant program that helps cover some of the costs for heritage homeowners who want or need to do work on their property.

The mayor also said the Town should consider a third that would see the municipality help cover the cost of a heritage impact assessment that would be required for designated homes where the owner wants to do some work.

Additionally, when owners oppose designation, staff attempt to work with the owner to negotiate a resolution that works on both sides or simply assuage some fears that may be overexaggerated. That could mean pointing out the programs in place, or altering the designation so it doesn’t include an area of concern for the owner.

In the case of the Ridge Road North property that received objection, staff said they tried to accommodate the owner by removing interior features from the designation.

The four properties councillors voted to designate include:

• 1447 Ridge Road North
• 241 Ridge Road North
• 367 Crescent Road
• 651 Ridge Road North

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