Most downtown properties left off heritage registry list

City councillors voted to adopt a new list of buildings that deserve heritage protection, on Monday, but they didn’t agree to include all 100 properties suggested by city staff – they left out the majority of downtown properties, pending an overhaul of the city’s Official Plan.

Councillors also added another caveat: they want consent from property owners, before their buildings are added to the registry.

The idea wasn’t to put heritage designations on each of these properties. City staff had compiled a list of roughly 100 buildings – most of them downtown – that are historically significant.

Putting them on a registry would mean the property owner would need to wait 60 days before applying for a demolition permit (enough time for council to start the process of designation.)

City staff wrote in a report that it’s about time the city adopts such a registry. Staff included properties such as St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church, which has major structural deficiencies.

Ken Doherty, the city’s community services director, urged councillors to consider adopting the registry (even without asking property owners’ permission, first).

He said he’d be “very concerned” if council elected to wait any longer before adopting a registry.

“We have a distinct and intact 19th century downtown – which Peterborough is known for,” Doherty said.

Meanwhile the city recently encountered controversy when a local developer obtained demolition permits to tear down both the Pig’s Ear and the Black Horse; the developer wanted to build apartment buildings.

Neither of these old buildings has a heritage designation. The sale of the Black Horse eventually fell through, but the developer, Parkview Homes, still owns the Pig ’s Ear (which closed in April).

Still, Mayor Daryl Bennett wanted to wait and allow all these 100 buildings to be examined and considered as part of an ongoing overhaul of the city’s Official Plan.

“Heritage is essential – but we can’t look at it in isolation,” he said. “We want to maintain some respect for our past – but also have a vision for the future.”

Bennett moved that properties within certain bounds be left out downtown. He only wanted to include properties north of Sherbrooke St., south of London St., east of the Otonabee River and west of Bethune St. (and that was accepted by councillors).

Councillors also voted to include only properties that have the written consent of owners. That was the idea of Coun. Dave Haacke.

Coun. Keith Riel said he was unhappy that the city wasn’t adopting the registry in full.

“Somewhere along the line it has to be, ‘What do we want downtown to look like?’” he said.

Coun. Dean Pappas was in agreement: “We have to get something on the books. We’ve been waiting too long,” he said.

Coun. Lesley Parnell said she agreed that it’s important to protect heritage buildings, but the city needs consent from the owners.

The decision needs to be ratified by city council next week.