Heritage woes continue in Erin

ERIN – Heritage designations – more specifically their impact on the cost of home insurance – has been a popular topic inside the town council chamber over the past several months. 

Erin council elected to indefinitely defer the designation of 2 and 4 Spring St. in Erin village following delegations from the property owners during a Sept. 10 meeting. 

“We did not buy a heritage property, my husband and I, we bought our home,” said Maria Legare-Taylor, owner of 2 Spring St.

Legare-Taylor said the designation notice has put immense strain on her and her family, including insurance issues, a financial burden and possible impact on resale value, all of which has led to lost sleep and difficult-to-manage stress. 

“How much do you think I’ve been enjoying my property knowing that I’m being bullied into a designation  that, quite frankly, I can’t afford,” said Legare-Taylor. “A heritage designation will hurt us.” 

Michelle Quinn, the owner of 4 Spring St., shared similar concerns.

“We embrace the history of this town and the culture. We recognize the value of its older buildings and we’ve put 12 years of hard work, care and money into preserving our home,” said Quinn.

“Maintaining an older home is already considerably more expensive than maintaining a newer one and we accept that responsibility because we love our home and respect its history.

“However, we did not agree to carry an unlimited financial burden on behalf of the town.”

Quinn noted the designation of the Century Church Theatre in Hillsburgh was deferred and asked how her situation was different.

The designation of the theatre, located at 72 Trafalgar Rd.,  was deferred by council in July after the property owner told council the designation would put unnecessary constraints on theatre productions and cause “economic hardship” due to inflated insurance costs. 

“I have said before when we’ve dealt with heritage designations, that it’s not our intention to put anyone through the ringer or to make their life miserable or more expensive,” said councillor John Brennan. 

“That’s why in [the] past when these sorts of situations have arisen, I’ve always moved to defer them.”

He added, “Heritage is good, don’t get me wrong, but it’s not as important as the people.”

Councillor Cathy Aylard agreed with Brennan, stating that she couldn’t “support a decision that forces people out of their homes.”

Councillor Jamie Cheyne, also a member of the heritage committee, agreed to defer the two properties “if there is a timeline that is suitable.”

Earlier in the meeting, Cheyne explained the designation process.

“Being on the Heritage Committee prior to Doug Ford’s proclamation, this was never our intent,” said Cheyne. 

“We have properties that are listed as heritage. There were 600 originally. We graded them, A, B, C, D and Mr. Ford gave a proclamation that anything on any heritage list had to be deemed designated or we lose that possibility.

“And so, we certainly would want to do designations that everyone loves, but we went through a process where we deemed the buildings that were most desirable, the most treasures or the most lost if they were gone.” 

Council ultimately voted unanimously to defer the designation notice to properties at 2 and 4 Spring St. 

Two other properties were briefly discussed during the meeting, however no formal objections were received and therefore the owners of 98 and 156 Main St. will receive a notice of designation in the coming weeks.