Ontario Heritage Act Register

Introduction

Victoria Hall, Cobourg.

The Ontario Heritage Act (OHA) empowers municipalities and the province to designate property of cultural heritage value or interest. Recognizing the importance of heritage sites to the collective memory of all Ontarians, the OHA requires that the province keep an official record of all properties and heritage conservation districts designated under the act, and of any other properties that the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport considers to be of cultural heritage value or interest.

The OHA Register is a central repository of legal documents, including designation bylaws, statements of cultural heritage value or interest, descriptions of heritage attributes, notices of council decisions, approvals for alterations and ministerial orders. It provides information for municipalities, planners, property owners, lawyers, heritage organizations, researchers and the general public.

This important resource documents municipally designated heritage properties across Ontario. In a rapidly changing environment, it is a valuable tool to build understanding of the heritage of our communities – an important step in protecting, preserving and promoting these sites for the future.

Since the mid-20^th century, many communities around the province have experienced tremendous growth. The resulting development has destroyed much of our built heritage. But some communities have faced slower economic expansion that has preserved their streetscapes and landscapes, while still others have planned well to conserve the natural and cultural heritage features that make them unique. The OHA Register is a valuable resource that documents these heritage conservation efforts.

The Register is a useful tool in understanding how designated properties have value beyond their community – they are part of the cultural fabric of Ontario. They are as unique and diverse as Rainy Lake Hotel in Fort Frances, Precious Blood Cathedral in Sault Ste. Marie, Layer Cake Hall in Bath, Peterborough’s Market Hall and Clock Tower, Gooderham & Worts Distillery in Toronto, Whitehern Historic House and Garden in Hamilton, the William Stewart Homestead in Niagara-on-the-Lake, St. John's Anglican Church Cemetery in Windsor and Bellevue House in Amherstburg, as well as heritage conservation districts in communities that include Seaforth, Cobourg, Kingston, Mississauga and Ottawa.

Until March 31, 2010, the OHA Register had been administered by the then-Ministry of Tourism and Culture. It is now managed and maintained by the Ontario Heritage Trust. Maintaining the Register is one of the ways that the Trust is working to support heritage conservation across the province.

Submit a request …

The Ontario Heritage Act Register is a unique central repository of documents related to all heritage designation under the Ontario Heritage Act. The documents are submitted to the Trust by municipalities, under statute.

The Register is defined under section 23 of the Ontario Heritage Act:

The Trust shall keep a register and shall enter in the register particulars of,

(a)    all properties designated under Parts IV and VI

(b)   all heritage conservation districts designated under Part V

(c)   any other properties that in the opinion of the Minister are of cultural heritage value or interest

Most provinces keep some form of statutory heritage register; heritage legislation from almost all jurisdictions includes sections on a provincial register. Most provinces also have online versions of their provincial register databases within the Canadian Register of Historic Places. Note: This register is a work in progress to provide information about historic places in Canada that are recognized for their heritage value.

Currently, there are over 14,000 records in the Register, representing statutory documents such as municipal heritage designation bylaws, heritage permits, and notices of intention to designate. Each document is kept in both hard-copy and electronic formats and tracked by database management software. There are also 229 municipalities represented in the Register. Heritage conservation districts are also captured by the Register. To date, there are 103 registered districts (and 41 in approval), representing 18,300 properties throughout Ontario.

Sandyford Place in Hamilton (August 1975) was the first Part IV designation under the Ontario Heritage Act, based on information in the Register.

The Register can be used by the public at large. It is more likely, however, that a narrower group of stakeholders would use the Register on a regular basis, including: heritage planners, municipal clerks, urban planners, historians, geographers, stakeholders in the heritage community, students, private consultants, tourism operators, real estate professionals and the development community. See How the Register is used …

The Register provides a unique, provincewide perspective on municipal heritage designation programs in Ontario. The information contained in the Register can serve many functions. It can be used to help municipalities draft heritage designation bylaws, identify and evaluate trends and best practices in heritage conservation, assist with the development of heritage policy, help communities prepare tourism packages and walking tours, and provide vital raw data for research and analysis. Planners, property owners, land developers and consultants can use the Register to help determine if a particular property is designated as being of cultural heritage value.

The Register can be used generally by anyone to answer questions such as:

• How many houses in my neighbourhood have a heritage designation?
• Are any houses built after 1960 considered heritage properties?
• Where can I locate dry stone walls or war-time houses that have heritage designations?
• How many designated bridges are there in Ontario?
• Do I live in a heritage conservation district?

The Register can also be used by anyone with a general interest in Ontario’s rich history to identify and locate interesting and unique heritage properties, resources and districts across Ontario. See How the Register is used or Submit a request …

The Ontario Heritage Trust is responsible for the Register as mandated under Section 23 of the Ontario Heritage Act. When municipal councils pass, amend or repeal a designating bylaw, make decisions about alterations or demolitions of heritage buildings, approve grants, launch heritage conservation district studies or pursue other actions enabled by the Ontario Heritage Act, documents generated by these processes must be served on the Trust. These documents are maintained by the Ontario Heritage Act Registrar.

Section 27 of the Ontario Heritage Act states that the municipal clerk shall keep a register of properties that are of cultural heritage value in the municipality. These local, publically accessible registers contain information about all properties designated under sections 29 or 41 of the act. They may also include a list of properties that have not been designated but that the local council still believes has cultural heritage value. They are often referred to as listed properties.

The Ontario Heritage Act Register is mandated under section 23 of the Ontario Heritage Act. It has a provincewide focus and holds statutory documents and information about all designated heritage properties in Ontario, along with all heritage conservation districts. When a municipality passes, amends or appeals a heritage designation bylaw, the municipal clerk sends copies of the relevant documents to the Trust for inclusion in the Ontario Heritage Act Register.