- Essex United, 103 King Street W provisionally adopted,
providing more time after objections -
by Sylene Argent, Local Journalism Initiative
Council for the Town of Essex passed by-laws to designate 11 properties within the Town of Essex during the August 12 meeting. This was done under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act as the properties were recognized as having cultural heritage value or interest.
The properties include Christ Church, Christ Church Cemetery in Colchester, the John Snider House, Grace Baptist Church in Essex, 54 Talbot Street South, 138 Albert Street, the African Methodist Episcopal/New Canaan Cemetery, the Central Grove African Methodist Episcopal Church, 11 King Street West, 3 Kings Street West, and the former Harrow Municipal Building.
In addition, Essex United Church and 103 King Street West were given two readings and provisionally adopted, which will give Council more time to consider the request for designation and give time for Town staff to work with property owners on mitigating any concerns with the designation process.
Owners of both properties sent objections.
They will likely be brought back to Council as soon as possible, perhaps at a meeting in September.
Rita Jabbour, Manager of Planning for the Town of Essex, noted that in June, Essex Council provided direction to issue a Notice of Intention to designate 14 properties within the Town of Essex found to have significant cultural heritage value or interest. They were listed on the Town of Essex register.
In accordance with the Ontario Heritage Act, a property which has been listed on a Heritage Register before December 31, 2022, must be removed from the Register, unless Council gives a Notice of Intention to Designate the property before 2027.
Bill 23 made “sweeping changes” to the Ontario Heritage Act, Jabbour said. Most notably, listed properties on a register as of December 31, 2022 must be removed by 2027 if no Notice of Intention to designate is given, Jabour previously told Council.
The Town of Essex Heritage Register contains 22 listed properties that were added before December 31, 2022.
The level of protection differs between listing or designation. Designation is the best way to protect a resource, as it prohibits alteration or demolition, unless an application is made and approved. Listing provides for temporary protection, which allows for alterations but prohibits demolition, unless a 60-day notice is provided to Council.
Listing requires only a Council resolution, while designation requires the adoption of a by-law that includes a public notification process.
In order for a property to be listed, it must meet a minimum of one of nine criteria for determining cultural heritage value. For designation, it must meet two.
To ensure property owners received the Notice of Intention, the notices were also delivered by mail.
Jabbour noted the Town’s planning department also obtained the phone numbers for five of the property owners, and was able to reach three.
In total, Planning Department staff members were able to have direct contact with seven of the 14 property owners.
Under the Ontario Heritage Act, a property owner who objects to a Notice of Intention to Designate may serve the municipal Clerk a Notice of Objection. Council must consider such notice, if one is presented, and decide if the Notice to Designate should be withdrawn or not.
The Town did receive two Notices of Objection. One was for 49 Talbot Street South – Essex United Church, reason being the building and land is for sale. The owners worried of the financial aspect as it could result in less interest in purchasing the property and that those who may be interested may expect a lower value. Potential buyers may also be less willing to navigate rules and regulations for a designated property.
Though there was objection, the owners still recognized the historical significance of the building, Jabbour said.
The objection went before the Essex Municipal Heritage Committee on July 25, and its members continue to support designation.
Planning staff members are open to discussing concerns with owners and any potential buyers.
“A property or a building should be designated because of its cultural heritage value. The inability to sell a property could be affected by many factors, including zoning, the condition of the building, and not just the heritage status alone,” Jabbour noted.
The Town’s Planning staff and Municipal Heritage Committee has implemented grant programs to assist financially with repair and restoration work and has delegated approval authority on alterations to the Planning Division to better streamline the process, Jabbour added.
“I want to emphasize, if there is a failure to designate this property that it will place it at greater risk for alteration or demolition,” Jabbour noted, adding failure to designate withdraws the property from the Heritage Register and it cannot be listed again for another five-years.
The second objection was for 103 King Street West in Harrow, the former Harness Shop.
The owners’ objection concerned that there have been several changes to the building, the harness making trade is not a thing of the past, and the style of the building is also not uncommon.
“The building has many heritage attributes that still define it as a built heritage resource,” Jabbour said, adding former owner, John McIntyre, was a very important individual in the development of Harrow’s commercial district in the late 19th century.
She reiterated that without designating the building, it is at greater risk of loss and alteration.
The Town also received a request from St. Clements Church, as they would like a little more time to consider the Notice of Intention to provide comments to Council.
If Council passed all the by-laws to designate, Jabbour noted owners can still appeal to the Ontario Land Tribunal within 30-days. If no appeal is received, the 11 by-laws will be registered against title of the property.
In terms of concerns stemming from designating the churches, Deputy Mayor Rob Shepley said they do not pay municipal tax, so he had a hard time with Council being concerned with the value of the sale.
“If we don’t designate it, that building is gone,” Shepley suspected, believing a developer would remove the Essex United building and put in an apartment building.
Councillor Rodney Hammond agreed. He encouraged Councillors to delve into the matters to make a well-educated decision.
With a different opinion, Councillor Katie McGuire-Blais didn’t think the Town should force a homeowner into heritage designation if they do not want it. She wanted to pull 103 King Street W from the list.
“I think if it is so historical to our community, let’s purchase the property and put it [at the Canadian Transportation Museum & Heritage Village] with all the other historical buildings. If it is not that important, why are we going to pigeonhole the owner of the building into something they don’t want,” McGuire-Blais said.
She believes incorporating heritage into designs is trending and thinks whoever buys Essex United Church may consider that.
Notice of Intention issued for nine additional properties in Essex
In addition, Essex Council issued a Notice of Intention to Designate nine additional properties.
Those properties include:
• 400 County Road 13 (the Klie Farm built in 1889)
• 94 Talbot Street South (Arthur Raines’s House, a former local grocer and Mayor of Essex)
• 98 Talbot Street South (Essex United Church Manse)
• 102 Talbot Street South (Victorian style house built before the Town was incorporated in 1890)
• 21 King Street East (Robert Heaton Building, built in 1901 as an expansion to his farm implement business)
• 22 King Street West (I.O.O.F. Building, built in 1916 to serve as its lodge)
• 314 Queen Street (Station Master’s House, built in 1897 and is located next to the former railway line)
• 0 County Road 11 (Gilgal Cemetery, a lost settlement established by freedom-seekers in the early 1840s)
• 0 Ferriss Road (Ferriss Cemetery which has headstones dating to the early 1820s and is the final resting place of the first Reeve of Colchester Township, John Ferriss).
In addition, 18 Talbot Street North (former Imperial Bank of Canada built in 1947) was also recommended, but Council pulled that from the list for the time being to gather more information.
Manager of Planning, Rita Jabbour, clarified this report is for the listed properties on the Town’s Heritage Register. Recently, the Essex Municipal Heritage Committee, through resolution, determined all ten properties should be recommended for designation.
She noted the Planning Department reviewed the 11 remaining properties that are listed to determine if they have cultural heritage value and interest. The Town added one property, the Gilgal Cemetery.
Two of the listed properties – 2547 County Road 20E and 687 County Road 50E, the Huffman Cemetery in Colchester – need further review. Another report will go before Council in the future to either recommend they be removed as Listed properties or that the designation process be started.
Next step, property owners will be notified with registered notices, the info will be published, and staff will try to obtain phone numbers of the owners as well.
A 30-day period will need to be observed before it comes back to Council.
Councillor Katie McGuire-Blais wanted Council to consider removing 18 Talbot Street from the list. Jabbour noted the designation would focus mainly on the exterior of the building.
Councillor McGuire-Blais would also like a report on the property, if one was ever made, provided to this Council.
Councillor Jason Matyi suggested separating the recommendations and that they be brought back to Council one at a time for consideration. His motion was not supported.