The future of properties that are listed in municipal registers, but remain provincially undesignated, is uncertain after the end of this year.
It is not clear as to what happens to those properties that are considered of heritage value by residents and institutions, but are not listed on municipal registers.
Those properties not properly designated under the Ontario Heritage Act in time, may be open for redevelopment. The deadline is December 31, 2024.
“Bill 23 introduced fundamental changes to the land use planning system in Ontario through legislative amendments to various pieces of legislation including the Ontario Heritage Act,” said Kevin Heritage, Scugog Director Development Service.
“The amendments to the Ontario Heritage Act have placed a greater onus on municipalities to consider whether heritage properties have significant cultural heritage value and if so, pursue designation by the deadline of December 31, 2024,” he added in his 2023 annual report.
Heritage pointed out that these changes are intended to expedite planning approvals and reduce the overall costs for developers with the ultimate goal of developing 1.5 million homes by 2031 in Ontario.
Ontario Legislative Assembly passed amendments to Ontario Heritage Act (Bill 200, the Homeowner Protection Act, 2024), which became law in Ontario on June 6, 2024.
Schedule 2 of Bill 200 proposed amendments to the Ontario Heritage Act (OHA) that affect non-designated properties ‘listed’ on municipal heritage registers. One significant change is the extension of the deadline for municipalities to review legacy-listed properties (those listed as of December 31, 2022) on their registers to January 1, 2027.
The Municipality of Clarington said the extended timeline will help protect heritage resources within the municipality, as it provides staff valuable time to review heritage properties currently listed on the municipal heritage register.