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WMTTBY FRE PRESS, HERITAGE SUPPLEMENT. SEPTEMBER 9,1987, PAQE 3 LAC's rote in preservation By KEVIN SUGDEN As one of the oldest areas of set- tlement in the province, Ontario County, of which Whitby Township is a part, had enjoyed a con- siderable degree of construction through the 19th century. Con- sequently there has beeñ a large resource of vintage architectural material that over the past half century has slowly suffered from age and varying degrees of neglect. The Canadian Inventory of Historic Buildings recorded over 400 structures dating before 1880. As Whitby vied for business en- terprise during the 1950's and 1960's, many exceptional buildings of historic and architectural impor- tance were demolished in the name of progress. In some ways this at- titude of the time can be excused because those decades following World War II wilfully turned their back .upon their heritage. This honest quest for the creation of a different world involved the loss of such memorable landmarks as the old Whitby jail, the post office, the Oddfellows Hall and the old Town hall. Paradoxically, the rate of demolition reached a peak at the same time as concerned citizens began to again appreciate the wor- th of the community's architectural heritage. An unprecedented high number of old buildings were leveled during the period from 1976 to 1979. Some of these seemed to have been removed only because of their degraded condition. Enough attention was directed toward ways of slowing this alar- ming rate of demolition, that Whit- by council passed a motion in 1978 to create a municipal committee rà with the mandate of advising coun- cil on matters concerning architec- tural heritage conservation. Four iev years before, the Ontario provin- cial government had passed the On- th tario Heritage Act. This contains a .oý section that sets out legislative :1 f procedures for the creation of Local 4t Architectural Conservation Ad- ial visory Committees, known as re LACAC. ac OurWhitby LACAC is composed of private citizens who volunteer their time and experience. The te committee has also enjoyed the ad- vantage of having a secretary, Bryce Jordan, who is a member of t the municipal planning depar- C tment. A budget is received from a the Town for its operation expen- in ses. Over the years, the committee d has also benefited from the work of several summer students for whom additional municipal funds were 'es allotted. The Whitby LACAC began with in the hope of stemming the tide of demolition in the Town. The Heritage Act equips a municipality le with the means of applying heritage designation status to any buildings selected by the LACAC as ti worthy of protection. The most im- i )S portant effect of such designation is the restraint it can impose on the or property owner, discouraging or alterations that harm notable features of their building and ie preventing demolition of the struc- ture for 180 days after permit ap- plication. This moratorium is applied so El that interested parties have an op- portunity to suggest an alternative bli solution other than demolition. mThese options incltode, convincing inthe owner to retain and hopefully 'upgrade the building, sale of the b3 proerty o a third party, or niremoval of tbe bouse from the land. A final resort would be ex- ezpropriation of the property from the owner. 2 Of course, it can be easily seen that application of the full powers uoffered by the Heritage Act could su make a municipal council ex- tttremely unpopular in some quar- ters. Consequently, almost since the inception of Whitby LACAC, it has been understood that a heritage designation bylaw would only be passed with the written affirmation of the property owner. It is the duty Fullforce ofAct not applied of LACAC to clearly inform the owner of the nature of a heritage designation before they assent to the bylaw application. The Town set an early example by designating four of its own properties. The old Ontario County Court House, now known as the Centennial Building was designated a heritage site in 1979. The old Whitby Library (previously the unemployment center, the Whitby Station Gallery,(and the Ashburn scboolhouse (now the Ashburn community center) have been protected since then. In 1981, tbe Ontario beritage brancb introduced a five-year trial grant program for designated heritage properties to promote in- volvement in the designation process. These support grants created a real incentive for proper- ty owners to have their old buildings protected. Up to $2,000 was available every year to con- serve and restore heritage features of their properties. This scheme was a boom to municipalities like Whitby which were reluctant to ap- ply the full authority of the Heritage Act. Now, owners of notable buildings were coming for- ward and voluntarily seeking designation. From 1981 until the end of the trial grants program in 1986, 20 private homes received heritage designations. However, offers of government money still are not enough to con- vince the owners of many impor- tant buildings to participate in heritage preservation plans. The re-introduction of the improvement grants this year may change the minds of some of these property owners. The amount of annually renewable support has been in- creased to $3,000 and an expanded grants program for commercial buildings makes available up to $150,000 for conservation projects. The funds forthese schemes is now a permanent part of the heritage branch budget, not just a tem- porary prograni. But simply administering and promoting governmerit grants is not enough for LACAC to fulfill its aim of expanding Whitby par- ticipation in the heritage movement. Much of its energies and municipal budget is directed towards public information cam- paigns. Photo displays, public meetings and events, newspaper articles and regular mailings are all aspects of the committee's ef- SEE PAGE 14 LACAC student responsible for. several artcle ne 1Heritage Edition Many of the articles in this "Heritage Edition" were written by Kevin Sugden, a student em- ployed by Whitby's LACAC for the summer. Sugden, who grew up in Oshawa and whose family still lives in En- niskillen, is entering second year at the School of Architecture at the University of Waterloo. His interest in architecture emerged only after obtaining a degree in zoology at the University of Toronto. On an extended vacation to the Mediterranean af- ter his graduation he realizedthat it was really old buildings that in- terested him most.Sd During the past summer, Sugden has been working out of the Cen- terunal Building and the Planning Dept. on a number of projects relating to architectural preser- vation in the Town of Whitby. Kevin has also supplied the pic- tures and text for the "A Place in Time" contest that has been ap- pearing in this paper throughout the summer. Now is the time to step up to Barrymore. Choose any style of sofa, loveseat or chair, have it Custom Made in one of the Beautiful Fabrics and Save 20%. McALLISTES 61 70 ROSSLAND RD. W., OSHAWA . 576-6465 a.. Mon., Tues.. Wed. 10-8 Thur s., Fri. 10-9 Sot. 10-5 1-7mý1t