PUSLINCH — The township has withdrawn its intention to designate a heritage property, while affirming its decision for another.
Approved at a Puslinch council meeting on Wednesday, the decision follows two delegations from property owners at 4492 Watson Rd. S. and 6714 Concession 1 asking councillors to reconsider adding both properties to the township's heritage registry.
While Watson Road owner Jamie Kreutzwiser's request was successful, an appeal from Concession 1 owner Dana Coffelt and her daughter, Kelli Wallace was not.
Coun. John Sepulis led those in support of not designating Kreutzwiser's property, saying there's always an opportunity to designate in the future.
Delegating before council in October and again at the Wednesday council meeting, Kreutzwiser said she has no intention of demolishing the property and the designation would impose unnecessary financial burdens, including higher insurance premiums and complex permitting processes for maintenance.
"She's done all this work and I see nothing but a downside by continuing this process on and on for her ... this is an individual who has put a lot of love and care into her property and there's no chance of it being demolished," said Sepulis, at the meeting.
As for the Concession 1 property, councillors agreed they've "opened the door" for more engagement surrounding the designation and it feels like these property owners are just getting caught up on what the process is and how it would impact them.
Coffelt's comments focused on the financial cost of compliance and maintenance as well as the potential impact on property values, saying the property is "dilapidated," and preserving it will require creative solutions "beyond designation."
"I would like to maintain and keep that property on the list to come back in January," said Coun. Sara Bailey. "I just think more engagement is probably going to be really good for both parties involved."
Mayor James Seeley was the only council member to object to the changes; saying the Watson Road property is "worth protecting," there isn't enough of an argument not to designate. He called the decision precedent-setting.
"What's going to happen in the future is that you're going to see an avalanche of people objecting because they will now know they can come here and object enough that we will not designate that property," said Seeley. "For me, if you're going to not designate after staff put the amount of work and effort into those properties, then we should just stop because the word is going to get out there."
Isabel Buckmaster is the Local Journalism Initiative reporter for GuelphToday. LJI is a federally-funded program.
