| Ontario Heritage Act |
Article Index for Ontario |
Website Links For Ontario |
Information AboutOntario Heritage Act |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT ONTARIO HERITAGE ACT | |
| architectural history | |
| ontario provincial legislation | |
| heritage act | |
| historic preservation | |
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Once a property has been designated under Part IV of the ''Act'', a property owner must apply to the local municipality for a permit to undertake alterations to any of the identified heritage elements of the property or to Demolish any buildings or structures on the property. Part V of the ''Act'' allows for the designation of "heritage conservation districts." Until 2005 , a designation of a property under the ''Act'' allowed a municipality to delay, but not ultimately prevent, the demolition of a heritage property. Heritage advocates were highly critical of the 180-day "cooling off" period provided for under the legislation, which was intended to allow time for municipalities and landowners to negotiate an appropriate level of heritage preservation, but often simply resulted in the landowner "waiting out the clock" and demolishing the heritage building once the protection of the ''Ontario Heritage Act'' had expired. In 2005, the provincial government enacted changes to strengthen the Act. Under the amended legislation, a landowner who is refused a demolition permit under the ''Act'' no longer has an automatic right to demolish a designated building once the cooling off period has expired. Instead, the landowner has the option to Appeal the permit refusal to the Ontario Municipal Board and the OMB will make the final decision on whether or not a demolition permit should issue. Where the OMB refuses to issue a permit, the landowner would have no choice but to preserve the heritage building. Many Land Development groups are very critical of the new legislation, as they feel that some landowners may be unfairly burdened with the cost of maintaining heritage buildings in the public interest, without any financial compensation from the public purse. Some Religious Denomination s and School Board s have also expressed concerns with the new legislation, as both groups have numerous heritage buildings as part of their land holdings and they fear that the ''Act'' will prevent them from realising any value from such properties. Heritage advocates, however, have applauded the new legislation, as it provides a legal mechanism to Protect Heritage Properties in Ontario with some degree of finality. SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS
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