Designation and Listing Guide

prevents unsympathetic changes to heritage properties that original owners created with pride and resolve and that current day owners have labored to restore and protect.

Alterations to a Designated Property Owners must seek municipal Council’s approval for any alterations that are likely to affect the heritage attributes that formed the basis for the Designation, as detailed in the By-Law. Council has 90 days to consent – with or without conditions – to an application or to refuse it.

Demolition of a Designated Property

A building on a Designated property cannot be demolished without the consent of municipal Council. Council has 90 days to consent – with or without conditions – to an application for demolition, or refuse it.

Representations

Owners always have the opportunity to make representations to the municipal Heritage Committee and to Council in support of their application to alter or demolish and in respect of any conditions that might be proposed.

Designation does not:

• Interfere with modifications and repairs to the property that are unlikely to affect the heritage attributes on which the Designation is based • Affect how the property can be used or require the owner to open it up to the public • Require the owner to restore a property to its original condition or its appearance in an earlier period

• Have a negative impact on property value; in fact, the rate of sale of a Designated property may exceed the general market. Designated properties also tend to resist downturns in the market. There is a strong likelihood that this trend will be evident in Belleville given the area’s increasing desirability as a residential and commercial relocation destination • Have an adverse effect on insurance premiums. Designated heritage buildings are in the same situation as other older buildings insofar as insurance premiums are concerned • Affect general maintenance work in respect to the heritage attributes. These do not usually require Council approval.

Alterations and repairs to features of the property that do not affect the heritage attributes do not require approval.

Why you would want to Designate:

• To preserve and protect the investment you may have put in to restoring or beautifying your home • To preserve works of uniqueness that define your neighborhoods’ or city’s character • To preserve places of cultural or historical interest or importance for future generations • The sense of pride of living in a building or owning a property designated for its architectural or other heritage significance • For the love of preserving history and buildings for future generations.

Interested in listing or designating?

Contact: Heritage Belleville c/o City Hall, 169 Front St., Belleville, ON K8N 2Y8 Tel: (613) 968-6481 | contact@heritagebelleville.ca Heritage Belleville meets the third Thursday of every month at City Hall.

Members of the public are encouraged to attend.

Designation & Listing Information

historically linked to its surroundings, or • Is a landmark.

Would you like to ensure your heritage home is preserved for years to come? Have you ever thought of having your home Designated or Listed under the Ontario Heritage Act? What is the diff erence between Listing and Designation and what do they mean? If you are the owner of one of the many old homes and commercial buildings in Belleville, you may wish to read further.

Based on these criteria and extensive research, a statement explaining the cultural heritage value or interest of the property is prepared together with a description of the property’s specifi c heritage attributes.

Listing

Listing is the fi rst step towards designating a property. However, this does not mean that the property will in fact be designated.

The decision to list a property may be done

by Belleville City Council, who believes the property to be of cultural heritage value or interest. A listing includes the legal description, the owner’s name, and a brief rationale to explain why the property is important to the community. The listing is kept on the Register of Heritage Properties.

Th e Register is a record kept by the Clerk’s Department, of buildings or properties noted to have cultural heritage value or interest. Th e Register is consulted by Heritage Belleville when dealing with impending demolition in order to determine whether or not the building or property should be protected.

Reasons fo� Listing

Recognition of the heritage value of our unique Belleville buildings by Listing them is important because it: • Celebrates the eff orts of building owners to restore and preserve their properties • Fosters community pride and promotes awareness of the historical and cultural past of Belleville • Establishes the Register as a valuable planning document to be used to support the goal of conservation of signifi cant built heritage resources by municipal decision makers in the

context of development proposals, building applications or other land use initiatives • Provides an ongoing source of historical, cultural and architectural information to facilitate local tourism initiatives, the work of local educators and historical research regarding the Quinte Region.

Effect of Listing

Listing a property on the Register does not protect it as extensively as does Designation. Listing may provide interim protection pending Designation in cases where property is seriously at risk. The effect of Listing on the ability of an owner to deal with his or her property is minimal.

Under the Ontario Heritage Act, demolition or removal of a listed building or structure is prohibited, unless municipal Council is given 60 days notice in writing.

This time allows the Heritage Committee and Council time to decide if the property should be designated under the Ontario Heritage Act to prevent its demolition or removal. This is done in consultation with the property owner.

Designation

Designation provides long-term protection of the designated property from demolition or removal and also from alteration of the heritage attributes. The evaluation for designation is much more rigorous than for listing, and more in depth research and an assessment of the value or interest applicable to the property.

To be designated the property must meet one or more of the following criteria set out in Regulation 9/06 of the Ontario Heritage Act: The property has design or physical value because it: • Is a rare, unique, representative or early

example of a style, type, expression, material or construction method • Displays a high degree of craft smanship or artistic merit • Demonstrates a high degree of technical or scientifi c achievement.

The property has historical or associative value because it: • Has direct associations with a theme, event,, belief, person, activity, organization or institution that is signifi cant to Belleville • Yields, or has the potential to yield, information that contributes to an understanding of community or culture • Demonstrates or refl ects the work or ideas of an architect, artist, builder, designer or theorist who is signifi cant to Belleville.

The property has contextual value because it: • Is important in defi ning, maintaining or supporting the character of an area • Is physically, functionally, visually or

Heritage attributes are those principal features of the property that relate and contribute to the cultural heritage value or interest identifi ed in the statement. Th ese are the real subject of the designation; it is these features of the property – and those alone – that Designation protects. Heritage attributes of a building might include: • Style, massing, composition (the building may be an excellent example of Victorian, Italianate, Georgian, Gothic Revival, Tudor or Regency architecture to name a few) • Features related to function or design (such as windows, friezes, brackets/eaves, wrought iron or bargeboard) • Features related to a historical association (for example a wall that survived a devastating fi re in the City’s history) • Interior spatial confi gurations or exterior layout (a unique fl oor plan such as an octagon, or interior design such as an original mosaic decoration, staircase, fi replace mantle or pocket doors) • Materials and craft smanship (rare or imported building materials, work by a famous artist or craft sman or designed by a local or renowned architect).

Designation is done by Council By-Law and is preceded by a public meeting and publication of a Notice of Intention to Designate, which includes the statement of cultural heritage value or interest, and identifi es in detail the heritage attributes that must be retained.

Effect of Designation

Designation is a tool that recognizes the irreplaceable nature of a municipality’s remaining ties to its past. In essence, Designation