Cobourg finally puts some teeth in heritage preservation

With more than 400 properties on Cobourg's heritage wish list, it is about time the town took some action regarding preservation of historic homes.
A proposal to incorporate the town's heritage district guidelines into the property standards bylaw is an excellent one and there should be no delay. This would enable the town to enforce important standards to preserve these buildings when homeowners fail to adhere to the guidelines that control any exterior changes that might change the appearance of the building, ruining the historic features.
Sadly, the town has lost many wonderful building, including the St. Michael's Rectory, the Chateau Hotel, the Lydia Pinkham building, the old post office among others because the town lacked the ability to enforce building standards.
The battle over heritage preservation is an old one placing those who wish to keep the architectural history of Ontario in tact against developers who only see old structures that need to be torn down to make new ones.
Until now, there are very few tools municipalities have to stop a developer. Under the Ontario Heritage Act, the best a municipality can do is delay approval on demolition permits to buy time to negotiate a deal. But this meant developers only needed to wait out any deadlines then go ahead to rip the building down. This has not changed.
The other challenge is the number of homeowners who are not interested in preserving the integrity of the of historic exteriors. Real estate agents are notorious for not fully informing homebuyers when they purchase a home in the heritage district. The guidelines recommend everything from the colour of the building to any renovations. Many time, uninformed owners are hauled before council pleading ignorance.
The Local Architectural Conservation Advisory Committee, a group of citizens designated by council to be watchdogs over the historic buildings in town, are often left talking to themselves rather than to council. This is the first time in a long while where the group has actually come forward in a proactive way. Usually, they come to council once a crisis exists.
They have a list of 400 buildings they want to have designated. Council must decide whether to impose these designations or continue to try and persuade the owners to follow the rules.
This is where the proposal to incorporate the guidelines into the property standards bylaw will become highly effective. This way, owners will have to comply. Also the fines must be raised. Offenders are hit with a meagre $150 fine. LACAC wants to hike it to $500. It should be $5.000 or more.
As for those who argue property owner's rights must take precedent, it is a poor argument. People who buy historic homes have a greater responsibility to the community and to history. If they don#039t wish to be custodians of these amazing homes and structures, then go buy in one of the countless subdivisions.
Cobourg once promoted its heritage far more than it does now. Citizens continue to be proud of the town#039s history despite the efforts by the current council. Once in office, Mayor Peter Delanty changed the marketing strategy away from heritage into "wellness" (whatever that means). Still, there are many who wish to ensure the preservation of the town's history for generations to come.
This proposal is a good step.