Council rejects delisting of buildings of historical value

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A new provincial deadline requiring the City of Belleville to remove buildings listed on an undesignated municipal register with potential heritage value by Jan. 1, 2025 is not sustainable, city council heard Monday.

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Council agreed with Heritage Belleville’s recommendation to send a letter to Premier Doug Ford and Michael Ford, Minister of Citizenship and Multiculturalism, requesting that the deadline be pushed back another five years.

Belleville currently has 130 properties listed as having sufficient potential historical significance to be considered for an official heritage designation under the Ontario Heritage Act, which would protect buildings from demolition and preserve architecturally significant structures for future generations.

The decision comes after the city lost two unique buildings to the wrecking ball earlier this year, including the Henderson Building on Front Street and the Coleman Castle on North Front Street, to the dismay of heritage-minded city residents.

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Thomas Deming, the city’s principal master planner, wrote in a May 27 report to council that “Bill 23, The More Homes Built Faster Act, 2022 … included an amendment to the Ontario Heritage Act; which requires any heritage property listed in a municipal register on 31 December 2022 to be removed from the register on 1 January 2025, unless the municipal council has given notice of its intention to designate the property under the Act. Properties that lose their listing status cannot be relisted for another five years.”

City staff do not have the time or resources, the council heard, to weigh the merits of all 130 properties before the January 2025 deadline, and would need more time to write off any properties that cannot be put back on the city register for another five years.

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In his recommendation to the board, Deming said, “the work involving 130 listed properties in the City of Belleville will consume many valuable staff hours and has proven to be a time-consuming project (1) and cannot be completed by December 31 2024 without reallocation of staff. away from projects that lead to the growth of housing units.”

“Undesignated properties entered in a municipal register benefit from provisional protection against demolition. The owner of a listed property is required to give the council at least 60 days (in writing) notice of their intention to demolish or remove a building or structure. The 60-day notice period gives the city time to decide whether to initiate a designation process,” Deming wrote.

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