What Does it Mean to Have a Historic Home on PEI?
In Charlottetown, PE, alone, there were 354 designated historic properties as of 2018. Most of these are on Euston, Fitzroy, Prince, and Sydney Streets.
More than 290 of these 354 properties received their designation in 1979! According to CBC News, between 1979 and 2018, there have only been 13 designations.
Despite there being so many in Charlottetown alone, there isn't a good resource I could find online about caring for these properties - Can I put on a steel roof? Can I renovate my kitchen? What if the original windows or brick work need to be replaced? What if I find asbestos? etc.
So, I decided to take on the fun task of reading the Prince Edward Island Heritage Places Protection Act Regulations so you don't have to. Unless you want to get a designation or buy a designated property. Then I highly recommend reading them yourself!
Registered Property VS Designated Property
The first thing to know is these terms are very different. A Registered Property is recognized for it's historical significance, but there are no legal protections to the property or it's historical architecture. There is a hope the owner of such a property will maintain it's historic look, but there is no legal obligation for them to do so.
A Designated Property does carry legal obligations and will be the focus of this post.
Why Designate?
There are a few reasons a property may be designated:
1. Age - A great example of this is the Doucet House, which as of 2022 was 250 years old. This is one of the oldest buildings on PEI and can be seen at the Farmers' Bank of Rustico and Doucet House Museums .
2. Style or historical period
3. Design
4. Architect or builder
5. Streetscape
6. Integrity
7. Construction methods
8. Exterior Condition
9. Landmark
10. Historical or site context
11. Event, person or activity connected with the site
12. Context as an institution
So let's say you have applied based on a few of these criteria. What happens next?
The next step is the Heritage Places Advisory Board will publicly announce their intentions/plans to research the property. This would be published in the Royal Gazette and maybe also a local newspaper or other media. The municipality, Registry of Deeds office, and property owner will also receive the Notice of Intention to Designate Heritage Place.
The Importance of the Notice
The Notice of Intention to Designate Heritage Place is an important step in this process because it will spell out what you can and cannot do to the property until the Board has made a decision. This notice will include:
1. A legal description of the site and municipal address
2. A summary of the "consequences of designation" - AKA what you can/cannot do if the designation is approved
3. The consequences of the Notice
4. Date/time the owner, municipality, or other interested/affected parties can comment or object to the designation.
5. Anything else deemed relevant
Once a Notice has been issued, no changes to a property, such as move/alter the outside exterior/appearance can be made. The property cannot be demolished in any way either. This will be in effect for 120 days from the date of the Notice unless the Notice is cancelled or revoked.
I Object!
Not everyone will agree that a certain place should receive a designation. Maybe your neighbours think the structure is an eyesore, maybe your local fire department believe it's a fire hazard or structurally unsound, maybe a local history society disagrees with its historical significance, or maybe your municipality or local government believe your community already has too many designated properties and it's inhibiting growth? There are many reasons people may object to a designation.
There is a formal process for those objecting - a Notice of Objection. This form would be filled out by the objector and submitted within 30 days of the Notice of Intention being made public. This form can be submitted up to 90 days from the date of Notice, but it's best to get it in as soon as possible.
Even if the property is designated, the owner and municipality have 30 days to appeal the decision. An appeal hearing will be scheduled and the relevant parties will be notified directly.
If the Notice of Intention is cancelled or revoked, another one cannot be issues for at least one year.
You have a designation but need to do renovations. Now what?
Anyone who wants to alter/renovate/update/demolish/ etc. their designated property will need to fill out an application form. The application will be reviewed and all, none, or parts of the application may be approved. The Minister does have the power to cancel any approvals given.
This application, 'Form 9 - Heritage Places Protection Act Application for Heritage Permit,' is found at the end of the Heritage Places Protection Act Regulations.
In this form, you will need to include what work is done, why it is required, estimated project cost, sources of funding, estimated project start and end dates, building permits (if required/applied for), and the architectural engineer and contractor who will be doing the work and their contact information.
If this work is part of a larger project, all aspects of the project need to be applied for separately. For example, if you are planning to work on the chimney this year but replace the roof next year, although you may consider them part of the same project, they must be applied for separately because of the time gap. If the roof and chimney were being replaced together, one application would be needed.
What materials and methods can I use?
This can get complicated as the Standards and Guidelines for the Conservation of Historic Places in Canada is 300 pages long. It is very detailed and has many resources listed so if you do own a designated, or even a registered, property, I highly recommend giving it a look through if you are planning any work.
Rather than attempt to summarize it, I'll provide the nine "General Standards for Preservation, Rehabilitation and Restoration" from page 22 of the Guidelines.
1. Conserve the heritage value of an historic place. Do not remove,
replace or substantially alter its intact or repairable character defining elements. Do not move a part of an historic place if its
current location is a character-defining element.
2. Conserve changes to an historic place that, over time, have become
character-defining elements in their own right.
3. Conserve heritage value by adopting an approach calling for
minimal intervention.
4. Recognize each historic place as a physical record of its time, place
and use. Do not create a false sense of historical development by
adding elements from other historic places or other properties, or
by combining features of the same property that never coexisted.
5. Find a use for an historic place that requires minimal or no change
to its character-defining elements.
6. Protect and, if necessary, stabilize an historic place until any
subsequent intervention is undertaken. Protect and preserve
archaeological resources in place. Where there is potential for
disturbing archaeological resources, take mitigation measures
to limit damage and loss of information.
7. Evaluate the existing condition of character-defining elements to
determine the appropriate intervention needed. Use the gentlest
means possible for any intervention. Respect heritage value when
undertaking an intervention.
8. Maintain character-defining elements on an ongoing basis. Repair
character-defining elements by reinforcing their materials using
recognized conservation methods. Replace in kind any extensively
deteriorated or missing parts of character-defining elements, where
there are surviving prototypes.
9. Make any intervention needed to preserve character-defining elements
physically and visually compatible with the historic place and
identifiable on close inspection. Document any intervention for
future reference.
Think your decision through before going for ANY kind of designation at any level
If you are thinking of applying for a designated property at any level (federal, provincial, city, etc.), or purchasing a designated property, think your decision through. Once a designation is given it is difficult to have it removed.
When Ray Campbell purchased 15 Hillsborough Street in Charlottetown, he suspect the main structure was a log house, based on the windows and glimpses of logs during some minor renovations. He had hoped to turn the house into a café and show off some of the historical architecture. The house is estimated to date back to the 1840's.
 |
| Image from CBC News |
The City of Charlottetown had designated it a heritage property and Campbell knew he would have to get a permit and permission from the City if he wanted to do more than interior maintenance.
What Campbell didn't expect was the sheer amount of work and money that would be needed to make the site usable in any form. It was more than he could afford and until the necessary work was completed no insurance company would cover the structure. This made the property a large liability as it would open him up to be sued if anything happened.
Campbell wanted to have the property delisted (remove the designation of heritage property). The city refused and when Campbell started to take the cabin apart, the city told him to stop or face large fines.
Long story short, Campbell was finally able to sell the property and the new owner planned, now that the condition of the property was truly known, to restore it.
Owning a designated property can be a lot of work, but also rewarding. Just make sure you do your research to the best of your ability as there will always be an aspect the unexpected.
"Charlottetown home reveals pre-Confederation past during renovations. March 11, 2016. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/charlottetown-pei-log-home-1.3488159
Lewis, Josh. "Historic Charlottetown log house is coming down, piece by piece." CBC News. July 23, 2018. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/pei-log-house-charlottetown-heritage-status-ray-campbell-1.4758793
Lewis, Josh. "Log house owner applies to delist property from heritage register." CBC News. August 7, 2018.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/pei-log-house-charlottetown-delist-heritage-status-1.4776893
Stewart, Dave. "Historic log home in Charlottetown sold after two years of debate with city." Saltwire. September 12, 2018. https://www.saltwire.com/prince-edward-island/news/historic-log-home-in-charlottetown-sold-after-two-years-of-debate-with-city-240627/
Comments
Post a Comment