REPORT. Mayor and Members of Council. Romaine Scott, Legal Coordinator PDS Heritage Property Tax Refund Program

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1 REPORT REPORT TO: REPORT FROM: Mayor and Members of Council Romaine Scott, Legal Coordinator DATE: January 20, 2010 REPORT NO.: RE: PDS Heritage Property Tax Refund Program RECOMMENDATION: THAT Report PDS dated January 20, 2010 regarding the Heritage Property Tax Refund Program, be received; AND FURTHER THAT a by-law be enacted to amend the Heritage Property Tax Refund Bylaw No to authorize the Chair or Vice-Chair of the Heritage Halton Hills Committee to execute on behalf of the Town, the Heritage Property Tax Refund Program Application and Heritage Preservation and Maintenance Agreement required under the Heritage Property Tax Refund By-law No AND FURTHER THAT a by-law be enacted to amend the Heritage Property Tax Refund By-law No such that all references to Heritage Easement Agreement are deleted and replaced with Heritage Preservation and Maintenance Agreement. BACKGROUND: On January 11, 2010, the Town passed Bylaw under Section of the Municipal Act to establish a Heritage Property Tax Refund Program to provide tax relief to eligible heritage properties. The tax refund program is to provide an incentive to owners of properties that have been designated under the Ontario Heritage Act, to maintain and preserve the heritage features of the properties. To be eligible for the refunds, the provincial legislation requires that the property be subject to an easement agreement under Section 37 of the Ontario Heritage Act or an agreement with the municipality for the conservation and preservation of the heritage property. In accordance with the Heritage Property Tax Refund Program By-law , the property owner was required to enter into a heritage easement agreement with the Town and to submit the signed agreement along with the application package, between the first and last day of February, in the year following the first year for which

2 the owner is seeking the refund. The Heritage Easement Agreement was to be registered on title to the property. COMMENTS: The intent of a registered Heritage Easement Agreement is to not only ensure the property owner s responsibility to maintain and preserve the heritage property but also to proactively prevent any works which might damage the heritage features. There are no provisions under the Ontario Heritage Act to proactively require an owner of a designated heritage property to maintain the property and prevent work which may damage the heritage features. Upon further consultation with the Heritage Committee, the requirements of the standard Heritage Easement Agreement proved to be quite onerous to heritage property owners with the detailed and proactive registration and work requirements. The Committee requested a less onerous agreement. To achieve a similar result, staff has created a Heritage Preservation and Maintenance Agreement which will require the owner to preserve and maintain the property without imposing the more detailed restrictions and registration of an easement agreement. Simply said, upon receipt of the Application, an inspection is done and if the heritage features have been preserved and the property maintained then the refund for the previous year is granted. To further ease the process for property owners, the Heritage Preservation and Maintenance Agreement has been appended to and forms part of the Heritage Property Tax Refund Application so that the signature on the Application is the signature on the Agreement. A copy of the Application and Agreement is attached to this report as Appendix B. Only 18 of the 23 existing heritage designated properties are eligible to apply for the 2009 tax refund. The 18 eligible heritage designated properties are listed in Appendix A attached to this report. RELATIONSHIP TO STRATEGIC PLAN: This report relates to the Town s strategic plans to preserve its historical urban and rural character through the conservation and promotion of our built heritage, cultural heritage landscapes and archaeological resources. FINANCIAL IMPACT: The costs related to the preparation of the Heritage Preservation and Maintenance Agreement will be borne by the Town. Report No. PDS Page 2 of 7

3 COMMUNICATIONS IMPACT: Staff posted a media release with respect to the program and the requirement for the heritage agreement on January 16, 2010 and further posted an advertisement in the local newspaper on January 22, A public information session was held on January 28, ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT: There is no environmental impact with respect to this report. CONSULTATION: The Corporate Services Department, CAO and the Halton Hills Heritage Committee were consulted with respect to this report. CONCLUSION: The purpose of this report to recommend to Council that the necessary by-law be enacted to amend By-law No to: (a) change the nature of the required agreement; and to (b) authorize the Chair or Co-Chair of the Heritage Halton Hills Committee to sign the Heritage Property Tax Refund Application and Heritage Preservation and Maintenance Agreement, to facilitate the Heritage Property Tax Refund Program. Respectfully submitted, Romaine Scott Legal Coordinator Bruce MacLean, BA, MCIP, RPP Director of Planning, Development and Sustainability Dennis Y. Perlin Chief Administrative Officer Report No. PDS Page 3 of 7

4 APPENDIX A to Report No. PDS PROPERTY BY-LAW NO. - DATE PASSED MUNICIPAL ADDRESS Designated Under PART IV of the Ontario Heritage Act Barber Paper Mill Beaumont Knitting Mill Craiglea House Duff House Lilac Lawns Moorecroft (Beatty House) Reid s Hardware (Goodlet s) Williams Mill Oct Apr Jan Oct Oct Dec May Oct Feb River Drive Esquesing 586 Main Street Glen Williams 9722 Third Line Esquesing 9690 Regional Road No. 25 Esquesing 475 Guelph Street Norval 98 Church Street East 86 Main Street South Georgetown 515 Main Street Glen Williams Designated Under PART V of the Ontario Heritage Act 69 Bower Street 71 Bower Street 75 Bower Street 77 Bower Street 79 Bower Street 81 Bower Street 83 Bower Street 85 Bower Street 87 Bower Street 89 Bower Street Report No. PDS Page 4 of 7

5 APPENDIX B to Report No. PDS Report No. PDS Page 5 of 7

6 Report No. PDS Page 6 of 7

7 Report No. PDS Page 7 of 7