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Couple sours on home's heritage designation

Local heritage buffs suffered a setback when Norfolk council rescinded the heritage designation on an old house in Villa Nova.

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Council did so at the request of former Haldimand-Norfolk MP Bob Speller and his wife Joan Mouland, the Liberal candidate in the local area for the 2015 federal election.

Distroscale

In an email to the county, the couple say the heritage designation at 750 Villa Nova Road has become an impediment now that they are trying to sell their home. Mouland reports that two signed offers-to-purchase have fallen through because the buyers got cold feet about the property’s status.

“This designation is making it seemingly impossible to sell,” Mouland says in her correspondence with the county.

“It is an unfair and unreasonable burden on us. We are getting old, our children have moved out of the area. We simply cannot maintain this house anymore. We need to sell.”

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According to the Ontario Heritage Act, heritage designations – once attached to a building – require subsequent owners to respect specific features. If alterations are required, owners are expected to make them in consultation with the local heritage committee and municipal building department.

“When people get their homes designated, they should be careful what they ask for,” Delhi Coun. Mike Columbus said at the Dec. 17 meeting.

“It could add a lot of cost down the road.”

Simcoe Coun. Ian Rabbitts said each subsequent owner should be comfortable with a heritage designation and not encumbered by the decisions of previous owners.

“It shouldn’t be an anchor on anybody’s head,” Rabbitts said.

As it happens, Speller and Mouland asked for and received the heritage designation in 1990 when the former City of Nanticoke had jurisdiction over this part of Norfolk.

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“After being encouraged by council members, we stupidly and – unaware of the dire consequences – requested this designation,” Mouland said.

“There was no consideration provided to us for the designation. All the (grant) money to help with renovations was gone before we had even asked.

“We were certainly never advised that the registration would hamper our ability to sell. We were never advised of the process we would have to go through to renovate.”

Mary Caughill, chair of Norfolk’s heritage committee, was unavailable for comment.

Past chair Ross Bateman, however, is surprised that two prominent political leaders in the local area would share such a dim view of heritage preservation. Bateman isn’t sure that removing the designation is as simple as securing a resolution from the municipality.

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Bateman is also skeptical that the heritage designation is the reason Speller and Mouland have had difficulty selling their home. He added that – once a heritage designation is in place – the Province of Ontario has an interest in a property and final say over the disposition of its features.

“Decades of experience with designations in this province have shown a tendency towards greater value in a property than would have been the case if not so honoured,” Bateman said.

“For good reason, a council cannot simply tear up a designation bylaw. Before the bylaw can be replaced there has to be 30-days notice for public comment. Should anyone at all object during that period, the matter will be referred to the Conservation Review Board. Most often, rulings have favoured heritage.”

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