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Princess Court Kincardine Council should proceed with the heritage designation
of Princess Court without waiting for input from the new property owner. That's
the opinion of Heritage Kincardine, which objects strongly to Council's decision
Wednesday night (Sept. 17) to delay the designation of the property, a former
seniors' residence on Princes St., Kincardine.
In Committee-of-the-Whole, Stephen Murray, Economic Development & Tourism
Manager, urged Council to follow the recommendation from the Culture, Heritage,
Arts &Tourism Committee and designate Princess Court with cultural heritage
value or interest under the Ontario Heritage Act.
Murray said, "The property is pivotal to the landscape/streetscape in this
historic area close to Victoria Park, our most popular park amongst visitors.
The Bowling Club was founded in 1897 and was once a part of this property. The
house was built in 1896 in the Queen Anne Revival style and it is believed that
Sir Alexander Mackenzie may have had this house built for his mother after the
passing of his father."
Heritage Kincardine wants to have three facades of the building designated - the
west, north and south including the wrap-around porch and windows. The Heritage
Committee also recommends the green space, to the west of the main facade in
front of the building, remain green space.
"In order to designate the property," said Murray, "Council must give notice and
conduct a title search, all at a cost of $500, dealing with such things as
consent/non-consent of the owner and a scoring system to evaluate the heritage
value to the community." In the report, Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), John
deRosenroll disagreed with imposing a heritage designation without any
communication with the new owner. He said, "The municipality should establish
its Municipal Heritage Register and then follow up with a local heritage
policy."
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(continued)
He read out a statement by the new owner, sent to council via a
letter through local realtor Charlene Randle-Clayton. In it, the new
owner states a readiness to meet with Heritage Kincardine once the
property sale has been finalized. "I'm sure everyone agrees that it will
be nice to see this building alive again after so many years [of
sitting] empty and in a state of disrepair," states the letter.
"Decisions or opinions regarding heritage status should not be
influenced by who owns the building. Decisions or opinions regarding
heritage status should not be influenced by whether individuals agree
with the proposed use of the building."
"Heritage Kincardine has sent the municipality information that the
owner's consent should not be a determining factor in a heritage
designation," said deRosenroll. "However," he said, "The municipality
should contact the new
property owner of Princess Court and bring back a report with additional
information."
Council agreed.
Following the council meeting, Jane Rigby of Heritage Kincrdine was
adamant that, "The municipality is making a mistake." She referred to
a Windsor court case from 2003 where, she said, "A council may not
refuse to designate a property based on the property owner's objection
only. In that Superior Court case, it was determined that; requiring
the consent of the owner is not consistent with an overall reading of
the Ontario Heritage Act; the object of the Act is the conservation and
protection of the heritage of Ontario; this may interfere with
individual property rights; and the owner's consent is not a
pre-condition (of a heritage designation). Indeed, there could be
situations where the owner(s) would not want the heritage designation."
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