HILLSBURGH — Council has stood by its intention to designate three Hillsburgh properties as having heritage value despite pushback from property owners.
The heritage designation of 93 Trafalgar Rd., 3 Station St., and 12 Orangeville St. was approved at an Erin council meeting Thursday afternoon after staff said the objections received were not "bona fide reasons" from "a heritage perspective" to withdraw the proposed designations since each property meets the threshold for designation under the Ontario Heritage Act.
This follows the town re-issuing its intent to designate seven Hillsburgh properties after council did not pass the bylaw to designate the properties within the statutory 120-day timeframe.
Delegating at the meeting, the property owner of 93 Trafalgar Rd., Stan Goveas disagreed with staff, saying the designation will "jeopardize" his future plan of development since he owns 91 Trafalgar Rd. and intends to demolish the existing property at 93 Trafalgar Rd. to build an office building or commercial mixed-use development between the two lots.
He also claimed designating the property as heritage would force him to remit an "unreasonable amount of funds" for needed property repairs and negatively impact the town's economy as opportunities to renovate the property to suit a commercial business will be non-existent.
"By designating 93 Trafalgar as a heritage site, it will have negative consequences for 91 Trafalgar and deem it unsavable for future use," said Goveas.
In response to Goveas' delegation, Coun. John Brennan asked if the onus is on the owner to maintain the building or if he could "just simply let it fall down if it was in such a poor state of repair."
Manager of planning and development David Waters said the property owner has to abide by all property standard bylaws within the town in terms of building upkeep, especially for the exterior.
"He could decide to let the building fall into disrepair and if it does demolish, then basically it's a clean slate in terms of heritage," said Waters. "So you could rebuild it to whatever the zoning bylaw would permit."
In a report, property owners of 3 Station St. said the designation would make purchasing home insurance more expensive, alleging a heritage home is "either a definite referral to insure or a decline to unsure with most major insurers in Ontario."
While most councillors understood the reasoning behind the objection, Coun. Jamie Cheyne said it's "a slippery slope" if council starts dismissing all heritage designation proposals because of insurance concerns.
Staff said the criteria for heritage designation doesn't recognize the challenges of obtaining home insurance as a reason not to pursue the designation.
"I think it needs to be designated, and we move forward otherwise we open it up to everyone to say, I can't get insurance," said Cheyne.
The owners of 12 Orangeville St. said the property only meets one criteria for designation and questioned the historical significance of Charles James McMillan to the development of Hillsburgh, arguing his brother Daniel was more responsible. It also says the house was built decades after the Village of Hillsburgh was settled and as such does not define the area's character.
The town's heritage consultant disagreed, saying 12 Orangeville St. is important in supporting the late 19th and early 20th-century character of Hillsburgh through McMillan's contribution and role as a local potato farmer and cattle buyer.
The designation of the other four Hillsburgh properties at 18 Anne St., 21 Trafalgar Rd., 81 Trafalgar Rd. and 114 Trafalgar Rd was approved at a Feb. 27 council meeting.
Isabel Buckmaster is the Local Journalism Initiative reporter for GuelphToday. LJI is a federally-funded program.