I should have added the Heritage Act is permissive legislation. Municipalities don't have to.
I once had to explain to a lawyer the difference between mandatory and permissive .After I answered his query he sarcastically asked where I received my legal training
I wish I had time to follow trends.
Mr. Bray, the Heritage Consultant states there are 31 districts designated in Ontario.
There are 444 municipalities in Ontario.
One of the districts is in Aurora and we are spending taxpayers money again to create a second.
One is underway in Kingston. A Councillor hopes it will be completed by the 2014
election. Mr. Bray is quoted in the Kingston Plan as well.
It would be useful to know why the Heritage Act was amended by the Province.
It wouldn't be surprising to find municipalities cited in the magazine Money Sense
as best places to live in Canada , as the same with Heritage Districts.
Considering financial and monitoring responsibility that goes with authority to designate.
it's easy to see how a whole new industry could be created with opportunities for an army
of heritage consultants and planners.
It brings back the question of where the pressure came from for municipal authority
to impose district designation.
Supporters of designation argue insurance protection is not affected.
Opponents have discovered something different. An insurance representative merrily
gives verbal assurance designation makes no difference. Asked for assurance in writing
draws a different response.
There are insurance companies which will not insure designated properties.
We all know about fine print .
What a catastrophic lesson to discover after a designated house is lost ,that authentic heritage
replacement cost is not covered by the policy.
Informal chats between provincial bureaucrats and representatives of the insurance industry would not count for much in the circumstance.
How much responsibility would the municipality have for leading people to believe the problem
does not exist?
The issue has been raised in public. The problem is denied .
How much legal responsibility does a consultant have ?
A consultant is much like a lawyer. Deals with an issue and then moves on. There is no requirement to actually live in an area, nor to personally do the door-to-door travail. They just put the new place's figures into the computer with plans from other studies and press " Print "
ReplyDeleteThis is how the consultants came up with the " comparable
towns for the survey on service charges.
This is a whole new industry that’s been created. An industry that of course has no interest in self-sustaining itself, much like the majority of the Culture and Arts industry. The environment industry is much of the same. The wind and solar programs are all subsidized by government. Billions of $ in “start-up” money that has not materialized into any cost or environmental savings. It’s helped in employment!As we know there are lots of consulting opportunities.
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ReplyDeleteThose opposing the designation have pointed out the economic pit-falls. Those pushing for it do not want to hear.
Those alleged pitfalls have been refuted, 09:28.
ReplyDelete13:02
ReplyDeleteDid you discuss this with your bank or are you just repeating what you have been told ?
Refuted by the one who received 67K to report on this study. I’ll take any real estate inquiry to anyone of the great realtors in this Town. I think they may know a thing or two about home values , mortgages and dabble in some home insurance inquires in Aurora and across the GTA.
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