City council reversed course on Monday evening, dropping plans to seek heritage protections for a nearly 100-year-old bungalow in The Ward and approving its demolition.
The decision followed a lengthy in-camera discussion about the fate of 239 Elizabeth St. and owner Dhrumil Mehta’s appeal of council’s October decision to deny a demolition permit in order to allow him to build a three-storey home in its place.
“I can’t wait to move to Guelph,” Mehta told GuelphToday after learning of council’s latest direction to city staff. “I’m super excited to build my house.”
Monday’s motion was approved 7-5, with councillors Leanne Caron, Phil Allt, Cathy Downer, June Hofland and James Gordon in opposition. Coun. Mike Salisbury was absent from the meeting.
That motion states the house doesn’t meet the criteria for determining cultural heritage value or interest as outlined in Ontario Heritage Act.
An October motion seeking to designate the home for protection under the act was approved by the narrowest of margins, 7-6, with Caron, Allt, Salisbury, Hofland, Cathy Downer, Gordon and Coun. Bob Bell in support.
City staff recommended the demolition permit be approved, though Heritage Guelph (HG) has twice approved motions encouraging council to consider designating it for protection – once in September, ahead of council’s October decision, and again in January.
The latest HG motion states 239 Elizabeth St. is a “representative example” of its design type, is a built heritage resource, and has “historical value or associative value” as well as “contextual value.”
“We are council’s advisors. Advisory is not advocacy,” HG chair P. Brian Skerrett told GuelphToday on Tuesday morning. “We provide our best advice to council and we’ve learned we need to stay uninvested in outcomes.
“Council has to look at decisions through multiple lenses and we have one lens, which is heritage.”
Caron proposed a third clause to Monday’s motion directing staff to have an in-camera discussion with Heritage Guelph regarding 239 Elizabeth St. with the results of that conversation returning to council for follow-up. No details were provided.
“I think this needs to go back to Heritage Guelph for further action in order to facilitate more transparency on this file,” Caron said. “We would need Heritage Guelph to deliberate first, then we can bring the results of their deliberation back to council for a secondary action.”
That clause was approved 11-1, with Coun. Mark MacKinnon opposed.
According to information presented to HG in September, the home was built around 1924 and is a front gable, red brick veneer dwelling with an L-plan footprint.
“The house at 239 Elizabeth Street is essentially in its original state having undergone very little change other than the removal of a chimney at the rear and the replacement of the kitchen roof from a shed to a gable roof,” a staff report explains. “Although 239 Elizabeth Street would certainly be a contributing property within a heritage conservation district, the subject property on its own does not merit individual designation under the Ontario Heritage Act.”
