City staff wrong not to pursue heritage protection for old home eyed for redevelopment, panel says
Jon Willing, Ottawa Citizen
Publishing date: 2 hours ago • 4 minute read
The owner of an old home along scenic Colonel By Drive could have his redevelopment plans blocked by a potential last-minute attempt to slap the building with heritage protection.
Shane Currey said he’s considering legal action after the city’s built-heritage subcommittee on Tuesday overwhelmingly voted to reject a staff recommendation to not pursue heritage designation for his old house at 860 Colonel By Dr. in Old Ottawa South.
The decision opens the door to council’s potentially protecting the house from bulldozers.
Currey is deep into plans to demolish the house and build a new home designed by Hobin Architecture, and it seemed like a notice of demolition to the city was a mere formality.
But in a 6-1 vote, the built-heritage subcommittee rejected the staff position.
What makes the subcommittee’s decision eye-raising is that the city’s own expert heritage staff don’t believe the house is worthy of provincial heritage designation.
However, the house is on the city’s heritage register of properties that are deemed to have some kind of cultural value.
The heritage register has been controversial with some property owners complaining about their buildings suddenly landing on the list. Staff, who have been tasked in recent years with documenting more of the city’s built heritage, have consistently insisted that a property on the register isn’t automatically destined for heritage designation.
There’s only one requirement of owners who own properties on the heritage register: they have to give the city a 60-day notice if they’re going to demolish the building.
That’s how Currey’s property became the subject of debate at the subcommittee meeting Tuesday.
Capital Coun. Shawn Menard started the process to scrutinize the redevelopment by, as the process allows, asking staff to write a report regarding the potential for designating the property as heritage.
Menard said he was responding to the community’s concerns about the property’s redevelopment.
The Old Ottawa South Community Association, for one, has previously expressed worry about the proposed redevelopment’s impact to the heritage qualities of the neighbourhood and its potential to set a precedent for properties along Colonel By Drive.
On top of that, the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT) has weighed in on the heritage “overlay” provision embedded in the community’s zoning.
The overlay requires any demolished building to be replaced with an almost-replica building, and while the committee of adjustment rejected Currey’s plans to demolish the house and build a new one, the provincial appeal tribunal in a February 2020 decision allowed the demolition.
Still, because the old house is on the heritage register, Currey needed to issue that 60-day demolition notice.
The 2.5-storey, red-brick house designed in the style of Edwardian classicism was built in 1908-1909.
Staff acknowledged that the house “narrowly meets the criteria” the province sets out for heritage designation, but it’s not a strong candidate. They have had no intention to pursue heritage designation for the house.
Staff also say it wouldn’t be right to pursue heritage designation at this stage in Currey’s redevelopment plans.
The possibility of the property’s being redeveloped has been looming since 2012 when a previous owner was eyeing demolition and redevelopment. City staff wanted to work with the owner on a concept, but the project never went ahead.
From there, the city implemented the heritage overlay, added the property to the heritage register and Currey, who bought the house in 2017, started the application process for his redevelopment project.
Currey said he’s spent time trying to appease Menard and the community through design changes.
“When I contacted Coun. Menard following his request for this report, he stated that they were ‘doing due diligence on this’ and if ‘it comes back and does not merit heritage designation then we will not pursue one’,” Currey said by email, suggesting his discussions with Menard were in contrast to the councillor’s questions challenging the staff position during the subcommittee meeting on Tuesday.
In light of winning the LPAT decision earlier this year, “this 12th-hour decision (by the subcommittee) has led me to feel railroaded,” Currey said, and Menard “did not act in good faith which is leading me to look at all options including legal action.”
Menard, who doesn’t have a vote on the subcommittee, defended his work on the file, noting that it predates his time on city council, to which he was elected in 2018.
“I have been up front with the developer from the beginning that I would not be pursuing heritage designation unless merited and that I wanted to do my due diligence to have a report come forward,” Menard said.
“The city report that came back indicated that the building did meet the criteria for heritage designation. I asked questions of city staff based on this criteria and their recommendation not to designate despite it meeting the test. The subcommittee, which I do not sit on, made their own decision.”
Currey is concerned his development plans are in jeopardy.
“Simply put, had this property warranted designation then it would have been designated at some point over the past eight years while development has been in question and if it had been, I would not have purchased this property or planned to build this home,” Currey said.
The subcommittee decision also requires acceptance by the planning committee and endorsement by city council at later meetings.
jwilling@postmedia.com
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