The process of designating private homes as heritage sites is deeply unfair. Arbitrarily, on the advice of people who have no accountability to the public, homes have tens of thousand of dollars instantly wiped off their value. The homeowner becomes an instant curator of a civic museum whether he likes it or not. It’s a process that should be stopped immediately and replaced with something fair. Everyone understands the desire to keep important parts of our bricks and mortar history. Public buildings and places where historic events have occurred are likely spots for such protection. In these cases, private citizens are well warned about the state of things. But frequently a homeowner wakes up to find that someone has discovered an esoteric structural feature that he thinks makes the home a heritage site. Nonsense. If these kinds of criteria are going to be applied to privates homes, let the City buy them at market value. It’s time to stop bush-whacking unsuspecting property owners in the name of history.
