Heritage BC

Heritage Grants To Continue

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 09:53:00 -0800

At a meeting on January 29 the board of the Heritage Legacy Fund society (HLF) resolved to continue grant programs in the coming fiscal year, beginning April 1. Maintenance of the grants programs, which over the past five years have provided $2 million in funding for over 140 projects, will continue despite the fact that the HLF last fall took over financial support of Heritage BC when the provincial government dropped out of the picture. The grants budget will nevertheless be reduced by 40 per cent over what it has been for the first five years of the program.

PHOTO: VERNON SCHOOL OF MUSIC

Petition Calls For Return of Gaming Grants

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 09:53:00 -0800

The Bingo Council of B.C. is seeking signers for a petition to the provincial government to bring back gaming grants for heritage and culture organizations. Last year millions of dollars in grants were cut as the government scrambled to reduce the deficit for the current year. The next provincial budget comes down on March 2.

» Click here to sign the petition

Victoria Must Pay For Designation

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 09:52:00 -0800

Rogers' Chocolates will receive $598,000 from the City of Victoria in compensation for the designation of the interior of their Government Street store. The arbitration finding has also ordered the City to cover 85 per cent of Rogers’ legal costs.

City Council designated the interior of the chocolate maker’s historic retail store early in 2009 to prevent a planned expansion that would, in the City’s view, have resulted in unacceptable alterations. The remarkable interior has been commemorated by the Government of Canada as a National Historic Site.

When Rogers’ rejected an alternative expansion design proposed by the City, Council enacted a designation bylaw to protect the interior, without the owner’s approval, as a last resort. Rogers’ said at the time they would seek compensation.

The power to protect heritage property through designation is provided by the Local Government Act. The Act also provides that the owner of such a property can seek compensation if there has been a loss of market value as a direct result of the designation. If the owner and the designating authority cannot come to terms on the compensation issue, the matter is referred to arbitration under the Commercial Arbitration Act.

A single arbitrator, a Vancouver lawyer, was appointed in the Rogers’ case and five days of hearings were held in January. Both sides presented expert testimony about the estimated financial impacts that could result as a consequence of the restrictions imposed by the designation. The decision, handed down by the arbitrator two weeks later, is final and cannot be appealed.

The Rogers’ case is a first in British Columbia, and possibly Canada. The compensation provisions of the Local Government Act, established in 1994, have never been tested in this way before. In addition to the immediate financial cost to the City, there may be other impacts for Victoria’s heritage program down the road as the impact of the settlement sinks in. The case is also very likely to be cited as a precedent in other communities, possibly putting a damper on the use of designation to protect heritage resources.

HBC Meets with the Heritage Minister

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 17:00:00 -0800

UPDATE: HERITAGE IN CRISIS

The Fall issue of Heritage BC Quarterly featured a pretty bleak assessment of the provincial heritage program. Copies of the newsletter were sent to all 85 MLAs, along with a cover letter from Heritage BC President, Larry Foster. The purpose was to underscore the seriousness of the current state of affairs:

After 20 years, Heritage BC’s provincial funding has been eliminated. The Heritage Legacy Fund society has now stepped in to keep us going, but only by cutting grants to B.C. communities. Gaming grants to heritage organizations have also been virtually wiped out, and all of the provincial Community Heritage Planning Programs have been cancelled. Almost nothing remains of what was once one of the best provincial heritage programs in Canada.

In response, the Honourable Kevin Krueger, Minister of Tourism, Culture and the Arts, who is responsible for heritage programs, proposed a meeting on January 21, 2010. Heritage BC’s position is that several things need to happen to return the provincial heritage program to a state of health and vigor: In order for the Heritage Legacy Fund to continue supporting the important work of Heritage BC while at the same time meeting the growing demand for financial support from B.C. communities, the provincial government should make a second investment of at least $5 million to the Fund endowment.
The government must reinstate gaming funding to heritage and culture. For many of our members and other community organizations this is an essential and often unique source of support.
The budget for the Heritage Branch should be restored to allow at least the retention of current staff levels and the return of basic services to communities, particularly the Community Heritage Planning Programs. Without a properly functioning Branch, the province really has no heritage program.
The government needs to find a sustainable solution for the Provincial Heritage Properties. This chronic problem is sapping the strength of the province’s heritage program, which affects all of the other priorities.

Mr. Krueger’s position was familiar and predictable. Recent decisions by his government, including the termination of funding for Heritage BC, were driven by the world-wide downturn in the economy. His government has been forced to adopt deficit budgets, for which, in the Minister’s own words, they are ashamed. Worse, there is not much hope for improvement, at least in the short term – we should expect more of the same for the next couple of years. And the government’s top priority is to put an end to deficit budgets. None of this is unexpected.

Heritage BC’s position, however, is that government will return to a position of greater fiscal health as the economy recovers. There are clear signs that this is happening already. We can also be sure that there will be more good news and government spending before the next provincial election campaign, three years hence. We believe that heritage has a better claim than most to consideration as we return to a state of normalcy, a claim based not just on the harsh treatment of recent months, but on decades of slow but persistent erosion of government heritage programs, policies and funding.

Heritage BC plans to follow up our meeting with Mr. Krueger with a detailed proposal of how a renewed heritage program can be achieved. In the meantime, it will be essential to keep the heritage issue on the agenda when other priorities clamor for attention as we enter the post-Olympics phase and the government gets back to work.

Read the 'Heritage in Crisis' Special Issue
» Fall Quarterly 2009 pdf

Approved Designation Status

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 16:48:00 -0800

The recent announcement that Canada has received Approved Designation Status (ADS) from the People’s Republic of China is welcome news for heritage tourism in B.C.

Previously, marketing organizations like the Canadian Tourism Commission were unable to promote directly to Chinese consumers. Now with ADS, the CTC will implement a robust action plan to leverage the growing interest of Chinese travelers to Canada, many of whom are eager to know more about the history of the Chinese in B.C.

The timing couldn’t have been better for Barkerville’s CEO, Judy Campbell, who, with curator Bill Quackenbush, made a trip in November to Guangdong Province. Accompanied by Canadian Senator Lillian (Quan) Dyck and Overseas Exchange Association of Guangdong Province director Lily Chow, the two Barkerville staff members were returning a visit by a Chinese delegation to Barkerville in 2006.

The focus of their trip was research aimed at better understanding Barkerville’s extraordinary collection of Chinese archival records, photographs, and artifacts – many of which were brought to British Columbia by early immigrants from Guangdong Province.

“The people of Guangdong Province still feel incredibly connected to those ancestors who left China in the late19th and early 20th centuries,” said Campbell upon her return to Barkerville.

According to curator Bill Quackenbush, many 21st century Chinese families possess a sincere desire to know more about the life and times of those ancestors who made the long and often arduous journey to the Cariboo goldfields more than a hundred years ago. This growing interest from modern Chinese travelers looking to reconnect with their Overseas Chinese roots makes Barkerville an invaluable asset to British Columbia’s further development as Canada’s Pacific Gateway.

“Barkerville is poised to play an important role in any future trade, investment, and tourism opportunities that arise from Canada’s new agreement with China on Approved Destination Status”, said Campbell. A recent survey by the Conference Board of Canada suggests ADS will boost the yearly rate of travel to Canada from China by up to 50 percent by 2015.

» Barkerville Historic Town

Photo: www.waterscapesproject.ca

Lighthouse Bill Comes into Effect

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 16:37:00 -0800

The federal Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act (HLPA) was given royal assent in May 2008. The bill, however, does not come into effect until May 29, 2010. As of that date, there will be two years in which Canadians can nominate lighthouses for heritage status.

Anyone can submit a petition (nominate) to the federal Minister of the Environment for a lighthouse to be considered for heritage status under the Act. To be considered, a petition must be signed by 25 individuals over the age of 18. If the lighthouse has been deemed “surplus”, the petitioner must also commit to acquire the lighthouse through purchase or other means. Government departments must make public a list of such surplus lighthouses during the same two-year period.

There are dozens of lighthouses on Canada’s west coast, and many are still in active use. Some have staff, some are automated, and some have been decommissioned. They are managed or held under a variety of tenures. Lighthouses given heritage designation will be regulated under the HLPA for future maintenance, alterations, sale or demolition.

The Minister has until May 2015 to determine which nominated lighthouses will be designated under the HLPA. The Act requires that the Minister establish an Advisory Committee to consult in this process. Last year, Environment Minister Jim Prentice announced that the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada will serve this function. The Board is also responsible for the Heritage Railway Stations Program and National Historic Sites.

Read previous article from Heritage BC Quarterly Summer 2008
» Lighthouse Bill Passes

For more information:
» Parks Canada Heritage LIghthouses

Photo: Amphitrite Point LIghthouse

BC Parks 100

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 16:21:00 -0800

Heritage BC has been appointed to a provincial Steering Committee to oversee plans to celebrate the 100th anniversary of BC Parks.

In 2011, BC Parks will reach a significant milestone in our history as we celebrate our 100 year anniversary. BC Parks is planning a memorable celebration; we hope that community groups and other interested citizens will join us in honouring our past! BC Parks will host a variety of events and activities, accompanied by publications, media stories, exhibits, competitions, conferences, forums, etc, that focus on celebrating, informing and re-dedicating society to the historic role and the current and future value of parks in British Columbia. Planning for the centennial commemoration is already underway.

The festivities associated with the 100 year anniversary will highlight the successes of the park system over the last 100 years and educate park visitors about the  significant natural and cultural values associated with parks. BC Parks plays a vital role in protecting and conserving cultural heritage features in the province - the Provincial Heritage Program grew out of the commitment that BC Parks plays in protecting and conserving cultural heritage features in the province!

Come and help us create a legacy for the next 100 years and promote the extensive heritage values in BC Parks. For more information:
Kimberley Reid, MBA, BC Parks, Senior Marketing Officer
email: 100YearsofBCParks@gov.bc.ca

» BC Parks

Photo: Bowron Lake (TOURISM BC/CHRIS HARRIS)

Government of BC Proclaims Heritage Week

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 10:45:00 -0800

Its official. The Province of British Columbia has proclaimed Heritage Week 2010.

Heritage Week 2010 runs from Monday, February 15 to Sunday, February 21. It is no coincidence that the theme is sport and recreation, and that the week-long celebration of heritage coincides with the Winter Olympics.

During a recent meeting with the Honourable Kevin Krueger, Heritage BC presented the minister responsible for heritage with a framed copy of our Heritage Week 2010 poster which features the New Westminster Salmonbellies and the Queen's Park Arena.

» Heritage Week Proclamation PDF

» Events: Heritage Week 2010

Heritage Legacy Fund Supports Heritage BC

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 16:45:00 -0800

In September, the Heritage Legacy Fund of BC Society provided emergency funding to Heritage BC which had shut down after the provincial government denied operational funding for the first time in 20 years. On November 26 the HLF board considered and approved a further application from Heritage BC for operational support, this time for the whole of 2010.

Without the support of the Heritage Legacy Fund, Heritage BC would be out of business. Next year will be even tougher, as the last of the Historic Places Initiative federal funding dries up in March, which has provided $20,000 towards Heritage BC’s budget for the past several years.

If we include the BC150 program of earlier this year, the Heritage Legacy Fund has provided almost 150 grants worth over $2 million since start up five years ago. And the demand is growing: the 2009/10 grants budget was expended before the year was half over. At the same time, the Fund’s revenues have been diminishing. As a result of the recession, the Fund’s income is down by 40 per cent this year and reserves are being used up quickly.

Now, with the provincial government’s cancellation of funding to Heritage BC, there is a new demand on limited resources. The HLF board concluded that keeping Heritage BC going simply had to be a priority. Further, if Heritage BC went under the HLF society would itself be threatened since Heritage BC makes up half the organization.

Community grants must be curtailed as a result. With the gaming door shut, where else can heritage projects turn to? Is this sustainable?

Pam Madoff Leaves Heritage Canada Board

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 16:16:00 -0800

Pam Madoff of Victoria resigned her position as B.C. Governor on the board of the Heritage Canada Foundation at the AGM in September. Pam had been Governor since her election in 2004.

Pam has been a leading figure in heritage conservation in Victoria and B.C. for over 20 years. She is a past president of Victoria’s Hallmark Society, and was a Vice-Chair of the former B.C. Heritage Trust. She is also a veteran municipal politician having served for 16 years on the City of Victoria council where her special interests are planning, design and heritage conservation.

As B.C. Governor, Pam also sat as an ex officio member of the board of Heritage BC where she has made a valuable and much appreciated contribution for the past five years.
The Heritage Canada Foundation is contemplating appointing a replacement for Pam until the next board election in the fall of 2010.

Cuts Hit Heritage Organizations

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 16:41:00 -0700

Recent deep cuts by the provincial government have impacted heritage conservation in several ways.

The virtual elimination of gaming grants has been devastating. Many museums and other community heritage organizations have had to reduce programs and cut staff. Some will suffer significant deficits as a result.

Heritage BC has addressed these cuts in a submission to the provincial Finance Committee.

Heritage BC also lost 90% of its core operations funding and was forced to shut down for three months over the summer. A grant from the Heritage Legacy Fund got Heritage BC back to work, but this in turn will reduce grants to communities.

The provincial Heritage Branch has been cut back to a base budget, with no funds available for community grants or outside contracts. Funding for the Heritage Tourism Alliance, a major initiative, has been terminated, and the British Columbia Heritage Award was cancelled. The Branch will also lose its federal funding for the Historic Places Initiative as of March 31, 2010.

Former heritage minister, Bill Bennett, said publicly last year on several occasions that heritage was not getting its fair share of resources. He promised to do his best to correct the situation, and a substantial investment of $8.1 million was announced before the election for the province’s own Heritage Properties. That investment was necessary and overdue, but unfortunately it looks to be the last for heritage for some time.

Things, in fact, have just gotten much worse.

Read the HeritageBC submission:

» Submission to the Finance Committee

Time Travel BC

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 15:56:00 -0700

NEW HERITAGE TOURISM WEBSITE LAUNCHED :

It is now easier than ever to take a trip through time to British Columbia’s past with the help of a new website launched by the Heritage Tourism Alliance of BC. The site www.timetravelbc.com puts the province’s heritage experiences at traveler’s fingertips, so they can plan activities and itineraries with ease.

“Heritage tourism is an important component of cultural tourism, one of the fastest growing sectors in the industry today,” says Tiffany Gyles, heritage tourism liaison with the Heritage Tourism Alliance. “This website puts information on heritage experiences all in one place in an easy-to-use format. This allows visitors to BC to include heritage sites in their plans – even their accommodation and dining.”

The Time Travel BC web site, launched on October 16 at the BC Museum Association’s annual conference in Osoyoos, allows visitors to search for heritage experiences by region or by travel categories such as heritage-themed accommodation or shopping. Heritage sites range from well-established destinations like Barkerville to a century-old hotel or pub.

“In BC, our heritage is valued as a major contributor to our distinctive identity, character and sense of place to our communities, residents and visitors,” says Jim Harding, executive director of the BCMA, a member of the Heritage Tourism Alliance. “The purpose of the Alliance and this website is to raise awareness of the breadth and depth of BC’s heritage experiences across the province and ensure visitors include heritage as an essential part of their visit.”

The Heritage Tourism Alliance of BC is made up of partners from Tourism BC, the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and the Arts, Heritage BC, BC Museums Association, Parks Canada, BC Heritage Properties, the Business Improvement Areas of BC, and a variety of independent heritage operators. While visiting heritage sites is not a new phenomenon to travelers to BC, the Alliance is working to ensure heritage is an essential part of the BC experience and easy to seek out for those who like a bit of the past in their present day travel.

The World Tourism Organization has reported that travellers are looking for a complete, participatory authentic, experience which also provides them with opportunities for new knowledge. And statistics are favourable for BC’s target audiences. For instance, 17 per cent or 34.5 million American adults are heritage tourism enthusiasts, and of these 63 per cent sought out heritage experiences as part of their last visit to Canada. Canadians are also keen on heritage, with 11 per cent identifying themselves as heritage tourism devotees; more than 55 per cent of them made a heritage experience part of their last trip in Canada.

» www.timetravelbc.com

Victoria Business Seeks Compensation

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 13:35:00 -0700

Update: The hearing of the application for compensation by Rogers’ Chocolates, originally scheduled for November, has been postponed until January 2010.

The case is the first of its kind in B.C. since the passage of new legislation in 1994. The City of Victoria designated the interior of Roger’s Government Street store earlier this year, again the wishes of the owner.

Rogers’ Chocolates is carrying through on a threat to seek financial compensation for the designation of their Government Street store interior in Victoria. The City of Victoria designated the National Historic Site last February to prevent a proposed alteration and expansion. The company’s solicitor had warned council at the time that the firm would seek compensation. The case is now headed to arbitration.

Part 27 of the Local Government Act (LGA) provides that, should the parties be unable to agree either that compensation is due or on the amount of compensation, either the owner or the city may apply for arbitration under the Commercial Arbitration Act.

This is what Rogers has done. A sole arbitrator has been assigned the case.

The purpose of the arbitration is to establish what, if any, has been the reduction in market value as the result of the heritage designation. The LGA further provides that the arbitrator must take into consideration:

(a) financial and other support available for conservation of the designated property, and

(b) any other benefits that are available because of the designation of the property

This case is a first in B.C., and possibly Canada. As such, it will very likely become a precedent for similar cases. The arbitrator’s decision will be final: there is no provision in law for an appeal.

Exemption Extended to Register Properties

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 13:16:00 -0700

ENERGY EFFICIENCY ACT

Last Spring the alarm was sounded in the heritage community when it became apparent that new regulations under the provincial Energy Efficiency Act could have serious consequences for heritage rehabilitation and restoration projects. The new regulations place stringent requirements and limitations on the manufacture of new windows and doors, including replacement units in heritage buildings. Only designated heritage buildings would be exempt.

A series of meetings between the provincial Heritage Branch, Alternative Energy Branch, and representatives from the heritage sector established that the new regulations would be in conflict with the Local Government Act that provides for the creation of official registers of heritage property. In essence, it would not have been possible to comply with the new regulations and at same time maintain the heritage value of formally-recognized historic places that did not have the legal protection of designation. There are many more register properties than designated.

As a direct result of these meetings, an updated exemption for heritage buildings was approved by Cabinet in September which includes properties on an official community heritage register.

This outcome should prevent a number of inappropriate window and door replacements in heritage buildings. It will allow the continuation of innovative approaches to energy conservation in historic homes and other properties, including the use of storm windows.

It may also serve as a precedent for other lobbying efforts by the heritage community seeking exemptions for heritage property from the inappropriate application of regulations such as the Homeowner Protection Act. Finally, it should serve as a prompt to local governments to establish or update their official heritage registers.

Hal Kalman Receives Leger Award

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 13:02:00 -0700

Hal Kalman has been awarded the 2009 Gabrielle Leger Award for Lifetime Achievement by the Heritage Canada Foundation. The award was presented in Toronto on September 25.

Dr. Kalman’s reputation as a heritage conservation practitioner, theorist, writer and educator is internationally recognized. When he opened his practice in Ottawa in 1975 he became Canada’s first professional heritage consultant.

Hal has introduced many innovations to heritage conservation practice during his career, including Canada’s first objective process for determining the historic value of buildings in the widely-adopted Evaluation of Historic Buildings in 1979. He has been involved in more than 1,000 professional projects in Canada and abroad.

Hal introduced the subject of heritage conservation into the architectural history curriculum at the University of British Columbia, where he taught from 1968 to 1975. Presently he teaches at the Universities of Victoria and Hong Kong.

One of Hal’s personal missions has been to raise public awareness of heritage conservation. He has appeared regularly on CBC Radio and the Homes by Design TV series. His long-running column in Canadian Heritage magazine, his many articles in Canadian journals, and his conservation guidebooks have been immensely popular. His award-winning A History of Canadian Architecture remains a standard 15 years after its publication.

Hal has received a number of other awards including:  
• British Columbia Heritage Award (2006)
• Sir John A. Macdonald Prize for History, Canadian Historical Association
• City of Vancouver Heritage Awards
• Heritage BC Awards

Dr. Kalman has been active on the boards of Canada’s most influential non-governmental organizations, including the Society for the Study of Architecture in Canada, the Association for Preservation Technology, ICOMOS Canada, the Heritage Canada Foundation and the Canadian Association of Heritage Professionals. He currently sits on the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada.

» Heritage Canada: Gabrielle Leger Award

Take a Virtual History Tour

Mon, 03 Aug 2009 11:19:00 -0700

Heritage BC is pleased to announce the launch of a new interactive website that explores the people, places and events at over 100 Stops of Interest throughout the province — www.heritagebc.com.

The original ‘Stops of Interest’ plaques have a special place in the hearts of many travellers. It was developed for the provincial centennial in 1958 to mark sites of historic significance. Over the years, signs were added sporadically – eleven new signs have recently been erected by the Ministry of Transportation to celebrate BC150. The BC150-Heritage Legacy Fund grant program seemed the perfect opportunity to bring a wealth of knowledge inspired by these signs to the internet...and to have some fun at the same time.

It seems appropriate, for the recent sesquicentennial, that the concept is re-visited and refreshed, utilizing new ‘state of the art’ technologies to help make provincial history more widely accessible, interesting and fun...and it’s not just for kids.

We encourage everyone to visit Heritage BC Stops.com! Send us your feedback, spread the word, and most importantly, take the opportunity to promote local community resources and links for preservation societies, publications, museums, tourism attractions and more.

Read more about the interactive features and design of the website
» Education : Virtual History Tour

Pack your bags and grab a ticket
» www.heritagebcstops.com

BY LIS BAILLY, PORTFOLIO ART SERVICES, 250.479.2868

Municipalities Seek Heritage Exemption

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 10:49:00 -0700

Victoria and Port Moody councils have passed resolutions to seek exemptions from the provincial Homeowner Protection Act (HPA) for recognized heritage property. New Westminster and Vancouver are also expected to debate similar resolutions, which are being forwarded to the Union of B.C. Municipalities for consideration at the fall Annual General Meeting.

The HPA, enacted in 1998, requires that every new home created in B.C. be covered by warranty insurance. The legislation grew out of the leaky condo fiasco and was designed to restore home buyer confidence. It has unfortunately caught up a number of heritage rehabilitation projects, which were never part of the problem, resulting in enforced and undesirable changes to heritage fabric, especially windows. The move to seek a heritage exemption is the latest chapter in a three-year struggle to counter the effects of the HPA.

» Background: Exempting Heritage Property from HPA

Exempting Heritage Property from HPA

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 10:18:00 -0700

The Government of British Columbia passed the Homeowner Protection Act (HPA) in 1998 following a commission of enquiry into leaky condos. The primary purpose of the Act is to strengthen consumer protection for buyers of new homes.

Under the HPA, residential builders are required to arrange for third party home warranty insurance on new homes before obtaining a building permit. The minimum coverage and standards for home warranty insurance policies, set by regulation, are two years on labour and materials, five years on the building envelope and 10 years on the structure of the home.

The HPA applies to all new homes in B.C., including the conversion of non-residential buildings to residential use, or single-family homes to a multiple–home configuration.

While there is a certain logic to applying the HPA to all new homes, when it is applied to heritage buildings unintended consequences, such as the removal and destruction of historic fabric, may result. These unintended negative impacts on heritage character occur when warranty providers and professional envelope consultants rigidly apply new construction standards to the rehabilitation of historic buildings. Claiming an inability to ascertain their risk exposure in guaranteeing the performance of existing wall assemblies and windows that do not completely conform to the current building code, warranty insurance providers are requiring the replacement of existing windows and substantial rebuilding of walls with new materials (rainscreening) as a prerequisite for coverage. Under the HPA a project cannot proceed without insurance, so heritage typically loses these contests.

There is little or no evidence that these actions are necessary to protect the consumer, which is the purpose of the HPA. Many of the buildings affected are a century old and have a proven track record, well beyond the 2-5-10 coverage mandated by the Act. There is also no evidence that residential conversion of historic buildings is resulting in serious complaints from home buyers.

The unintended consequences of the HPA for heritage put it in conflict with other provincial statutes and programs, and the policies, regulations and programs of many local governments. The Heritage Conservation Act and Part 27 of the Local Government Act, among other provincial statutes, establish a foundation for the conservation of heritage resources in B.C. Similar powers are entrenched in the Vancouver Charter. Thousands of historic buildings are protected under municipal bylaws as designated heritage property or listed properties within Heritage Conservation Areas. Many local governments have implemented incentive programs to promote the conservation of heritage buildings, providing tax incentives, density bonusing and transfer, rezoning and bylaw relaxations, and grants. The total value of these incentives runs into the hundreds of millions of dollars. The provincial government supports these local efforts to conserve heritage and has also, over the past three decades, contributed tens of millions of dollars in grants and programs to advance the cause of heritage conservation. Possibly more significantly, the owners and developers of heritage buildings have made their own investments in rehabilitation and conservation, many times over that of government.

The destruction of the historic character of heritage buildings as a result of the HPA runs directly contrary to these efforts, expenditures and policies.

Heritage BC first raised these concerns with the Homeowner Protection Office (HPO) in 2006. Established under the HPA, the HPO administers the Act. Subsequently, a working group, including Heritage BC, representatives of local government, trades, and the provincial Heritage Branch has had meetings with the HPO, gathered a number of case studies, and in May of 2008 submitted to the HPO the report, “Some Negative Effects of the Homeowner Protection Act on the Character of British Columbia’s Built Environment”.

The principal recommendation of this report is that heritage buildings as defined in the B.C. Building Code should be exempt from the specific requirements of the HPA.

The HPA includes the power to exempt classes of property. Several classes of property and persons are currently exempted under the Act. A heritage exemption would affect an extremely small percentage of new homes being constructed annually in B.C. There is no evidence to suggest that consumer protection for the buyers of new homes would be eroded by such an exemption.

An exemption for heritage property would be consistent with provincial policy to support the conservation of heritage resources. It would also remove a serious impediment for local governments endeavoring to preserve historic buildings.

RICK GOODACRE, HERITAGE BC MARCH 4, 2009

Heritage Vancouver Receives $10,000

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 15:06:00 -0700

Don Luxton, recipient of the 2009 British Columbia Heritage Award, announced on June 5 at the Heritage BC Awards Ceremony in Kelowna that he had designated Heritage Vancouver as the recipient of the $10,000 flow-through grant that is part of this prestigious award.

Don has been a staunch supporter of Heritage Vancouver since its conception in the early 1990’s, and is currently President. Heritage Vancouver is a vocal and effective advocate for heritage conservation in Vancouver, and has developed a number of innovative programs such as their annual Top 10 Endangered heritage sites, and many unique tours and events. The $10,000 will go towards an endowment fund.

PHOTO: DON LUXTON ACCEPTS THE 2009 BRITISH COLUMBIA HERITAGE AWARD FROM HERITAGE BRANCH DIRECTOR, PATRICK FREY, AT THE ANNUAL HERITAGE BC AWARDS IN KELOWNA ON JUNE 5

» Don Luxton

» B.C. Heritage Award

Larry Foster Elected President

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 14:57:00 -0700

Larry Foster was elected President of Heritage BC by the Board of Directors following the 2009 AGM in Kelowna on June 5.

From Kelowna himself, Larry was first elected to the board in 2008. Trained as a landscape architect at UBC, Larry Foster was Long Range Planning Manager for the City of Kelowna for 20 years, retiring in 2001. Since then, he has been a director of the Central Okanagan Heritage Society, serving on numerous committees and representing the COHS as Director of the Central Okanagan Land Trust.

Other executive officers appointed were Leslie Gilbert (Port Moody) as VP and Karen Russell (Vancouver) as Secretary/Treasurer. Pat McAllister (Vernon) is now Past President.

BC Energy Efficiency Act

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 14:51:00 -0700

New Regulations for Windows and Doors

New regulations for the manufacture of windows, doors and skylights in B.C. took effect on June 1. Brought in under the BC Energy Efficiency Act, the regulations are part of a broad provincial strategy to reduce energy consumption in buildings. While designated buildings are exempt from the regulations, other heritage buildings are not.

Existing windows and doors in heritage buildings may be refurbished without reference to the regulations, but replacement windows and doors will have to conform to the new rules. This includes storm windows.

The problem for manufacturers of replacement windows and doors for heritage buildings is that the new regulations will place significant constraints on their options. Replacement of inappropriate windows and doors is common in the rehabilitation of historic properties. Under the new regulations, the options will be severely constrained.

Manufacturers of specialty wood windows and doors, and members of the heritage community, only became aware of this issue shortly before the new regulations came into effect. A couple of meetings with the provincial Heritage Branch and the Alternative Energy Policy Branch have already taken place. Key issues include a proposal to extend the exemption to include register as well as designated heritage status.

» View presentation : BC Energy Efficency Act (PDF)

HLF Votes to Maintain Grants

Wed, 27 May 2009 10:08:00 -0700

The board of the Heritage Legacy Fund recently voted to maintain their grants budget.

As the worldwide economic crisis continues, the effects are rippling throughout the institutions of our society. The damage has been devastating. While individuals have seen the stock market implosion shrink their retirement fund by tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars, the impact on the capital of some large foundations has been in the tens or hundreds of millions.

These impacts of course inevitably are passed on to others. The Heritage Legacy Fund, for example, is held and managed by the Vancouver Foundation. And while their resources have always been invested conservatively and cautiously, the Vancouver Foundation has nonetheless experienced huge losses over the past year. The effect on the Heritage Legacy Fund has been immediate. The first impact was the cancellation of third and fourth quarter earnings payments in 2008. The Heritage Legacy Fund society uses these payments to provide grants to community projects. The projection for 2009 income payments at this time is zero.

Faced with this dire situation, which could not have been imagined a year ago, the board of the Heritage Legacy Fund society nonetheless at its last meeting decided not to reduce the grants budget. There are sufficient reserves for the time being, and the board believes that the important thing is to maintain the current momentum of the program. The board also does not want to shut the door on applicants who may be facing an even tougher time as other sources of funding dry up as a result of the economic crisis.

So it is business as usual for the Heritage Legacy Fund this year. In the long term, the board is confident that the fund will recover its value and more, increasing the
society’s ability to support community heritage conservation, its primary mandate.

The Board of the Heritage Legacy Fund of B.C. Society approved $110,000 in grants on April 8 2009. Click here to read about the conservation and advocacy projects that received recent grants.

» Funding: Heritage Legacy Fund

PHOTO: ST. MICHAELS ALL ANGELS (R.Goodacre)

Cole Island in Esquimalt Harbour

Wed, 20 May 2009 18:12:00 -0700

A little known heritage gem that is hidden right in plain sight is benefitting from funding for B.C. Heritage Properties announced this spring.

Cole Island is located at the head of Esquimalt Harbour. This tiny place holds a lot of history. When the Royal Navy first located the Pacific Fleet in Esquimalt, Cole Island was identified as a safe location for an ammunition depot. The first building, a powder magazine, was completed in 1859. A total of sixteen buildings had been constructed by the time the Royal Navy left the coast in 1905. Five years later the island depot was transferred to the new Canadian Navy.

By world war two the island was a surplus facility. Over the years, essentially derelict, Cole Island fell into decay. While the Esquimalt navy base continues as a busy military facility, and nearby Fort Rodd Hill became a National Historic Site, the island languished, a target for vandals and scroungers after bricks and roofing slates.

But being surrounded by water has provided some measure of protection, and, while easily visible from shore nearby, the heavily-treed site is to an extent hidden and a bit of a mystery.

The site passed from federal to provincial hands several years ago, and the Heritage Branch has struggled to cope with the handful of moldering buildings that remain. Other provincial heritage sites, open to the public, make more pressing demands on scare heritage dollars.

However, in the latest round of funding for provincial Heritage Properties, $25,000 was allocated for Cole Island. The funding is going to the Friends of Cole Island who have taken the historic place under their wing. Established four years ago, the Friends are dedicated to preventing further vandalism, preserving the heritage buildings, making the site safe for visitors, and having the island recognized as a marine park.

The new funding will be devoted to maintenance issues. The Heritage Branch has also made an application under the recently-announced federal cost-sharing program for National Historic Sites (Cole Island was included in a 2006 NHS dedication that recognized the Esquimalt Naval Base as a National Historic District). If successful, that funding will be dedicated to preserving the existing buildings essentially as ruins, stabilized to prevent further decay.

Cole Island is a short paddle from several launching spots and can be visited at any time. Visitors are advised, however, that there are hazards and due care should be taken.

Funding will give a great boost to a volunteer group that has befriended one of B.C.’s most important sites of military history.

» The Friends of Cole Island Society

The Royal Navy played a large role in the life of Colonial Vancouver Island, both for charting coastal waters and protection against enemies (Russia and the United States at different times) and for its influence on the social life in the Colony. Its Pacific Base was moved from Valparaiso, Chile, to Esquimalt in 1865. Six years earlier the little island, 400 feet long by 200 feet wide, at the western end of Esquimalt Harbour had been chosen as the site of the naval ammunition depot.
» Coal Island (www.maureenduffus.com)

Read related news
» Heritage Properties

PHOTO: CHRISTINA MARSHALL

Heritage Properties

Wed, 20 May 2009 18:01:00 -0700

Big Investment in Heritage Properties

On February 26 2009, heritage minister Bill Bennett announced $8.1 in new money for the province’s system of historic sites known as the Heritage Properties.

In the Fall 2008 issue of Heritage BC Quarterly, we looked at a 2007 study of the state of the Heritage Properties. Things were not in good shape, said the consultants’ report, and could not be expected to get better without a major infusion of cash to fix a backlog of work, and a significant increase in the provincial government’s contribution to the costs of annual operations.The report was well received by the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and the Arts, which is responsible for the Heritage Properties, but by the time report recommendations had been converted into government action a year later, the window of opportunity had been firmly closed by the global economic meltdown.

However, as the government’s fiscal year was drawing to a close the heritage minister was able to come up with a significant cash infusion. As this money was scraped together from the remains of the 2008-09 budget, it had to be moved out to the dozen sites by March 31 2009.

According to the Heritage Branch, the funding is being used for maintenance and conservation. The allocation of funds to individual sites was determined by the intent to obtain an equitable division that would keep all the sites viable. Not surprisingly, Barkerville and Fort Steele are the big winners, receiving more than 80 per cent of the total. This is consistent with the 2007 study which identified basic infrastructure investments at these sites (water and sewer) as top priorities. Five other sites – Hat Creek Ranch, Point Ellice House, Kilby General Store, the Grist Mill at Keremeos, and Cottonwood House – received $225,000, while $75,000 went to each of Emily Carr House, Craigflower Manor, Craigflower School, and Historic Yale. Cole Island in Esquimalt Harbour, accessible to the public but not operational, received $25,000 which will be used by a Friends organization.

Read the related article about Cole Island
» Cole Island

PHOTO : BARKERVILLE (Thomas Drasdauskis)

Eric Pattison

Wed, 20 May 2009 16:58:00 -0700

Architect Eric Pattison will become a member of Heritage BC’s board when directors are installed following the 2009 annual general meeting in Kelowna on June 5. A British Columbia architect since 1990, Eric Pattison holds a B.A. in anthropology and art history from Carleton University and a Bachelor of Architecture from U.B.C. At present he is completing the Cultural Resource Management Program at the University of Victoria.

Eric’s practice in New Westminster has been involved in heritage projects ranging from Queens Park homes to the rehabilitation of the 1911 B.C. Electric Railway Depot. His projects have engaged the issue of sustainability through the reuse or relocation of buildings and by incorporating found historic materials in new buildings. His projects frequently assist the development of heritage planning policies by local government, exploring innovative rehabilitation solutions. He also teaches heritage conservation planning in the Vancouver Heritage Foundation’s Old School Program.

His work has been recognized with numerous awards including a Heritage BC Outstanding Achievement Award in 2008 for the BCER Depot. Eric is on the Massey Theatre Society Board and the City of New Westminster Design Panel. While on the Board of the Raymond Burr Performing Arts Society, he was instrumental in securing the 1927 Columbia Theatre in public hands, having the building designated and undertaking restoration activities.

Eric says he is encouraged by the growth of the heritage field from a focus on the restoration of historic fabric to encompass a broader understanding of cultural values and significance. He feels that engaging a local community, and the visiting public, in a dialogue about the past and its importance lends authenticity to conservation initiatives and greatly increases the chance of a successful project and support for the heritage field in general.

Anna Cail 1911-2009

Wed, 20 May 2009 16:54:00 -0700

Anna Cail, Vernon’s Grand Dame of Heritage, passed away this spring this spring, a week before her 98th birthday. Anna was born in Vernon and lived there her entire life except for duties with the Red Cross in Quebec during the Second World War. Like her father and husband, Anna was a teacher. As a single mother following her husband’s accidental death, she taught thousands of children in the North and Central Okanagan before retiring in 1976.

Anna had many interests including politics and the peace movement, but people in the heritage community know her for her tireless efforts to conserve the history and heritage of her beloved home town. The owner of a vintage home in Vernon’s East Hill neighbourhood, Anna played a significant role in getting a heritage inventory completed in the 1980’s and a community heritage commission established. In her 80s, she headed up the committee to host the 1992 Heritage BC annual conference in Vernon. She was active with the Vernon and District Heritage Society to the last. Anne was the recipient of the Heritage BC Ruby Nobbs award in 2002 for her years of service as a heritage volunteer.

Anna was outspoken but always respectful of people. Her dedication won her many friends. Shortly before Anna passed away, the Greater Vernon Museum and Archives opened an exhibit that “not only illuminates the life of Anna Cail, but also pays tribute to all those who dedicate their lives to teaching,” says Ron Candy, Director/Curator of the Great Vernon Museum.

New Building Conservation Training Program

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 10:03:00 -0700

Students will benefit from a $30,000 provincial grant to the College of New Caledonia in Quesnel for the development of the Building Conservation Trades Training Program, announced by heritage minister Bill Bennett on April 8. The funding is being provided as part of the government’s partnership with the College of New Caledonia.

The Building Conservation Trades Training Program is a heritage-focused curriculum that incorporates online eLearning, classroom instruction and hands-on field experience at various sites throughout B.C., including Cottonwood House Historic Site and Barkerville Historic Town.

The College of New Caledonia will partner with School District 28 and Barkerville Heritage Trust to deliver the Building Conservation Trades Training Program. The program will be supported and developed in consultation with the provincial Heritage Branch, the University of Victoria Cultural Resource Management Program, Parks Canada and other partners. It will also be linked to other similar programs including the School District’s Heritage Preservations Trades Skills 12A, dual crediting, career programming and adult education programming.

PHOTO: COTTONWOOD HOUSE

More educational opportunities
» Education

Funding Program Reaches $1 Million

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 09:37:00 -0700

Ten grants approved by the Heritage Legacy Fund board on April 8 brought the total since the program started four years ago to more than $1 million. This does not include the million-dollar BC150 – Heritage Legacy Fund program of last December.

The latest grants included both repairs and a new sign for historic Bassett House in Okanagan Falls, the home of the local Heritage and Museum Society. Grants of $25,000 each will assist the Regional District of Central Kootenay to make repairs to historic Ainsworth Wharf, and the District of Wells to carry out much needed work on the Fire Hall. The BC Forest Discovery Centre in Duncan will receive just over $14,000 to assist with the cost of putting a new set of wheels on Locomotive #25, a vintage engine that is still working hard on the museum site. Other conservation grants will help with repairs to historic churches in Kaslo, Cumberland, Victoria, and Saanich. The Victoria Heritage Foundation will receive a $10,000 Heritage Awareness grant towards the cost of producing Volume IV of the very popular series, This Old House.

» www.heritagelegacyfund.ca

Keith Henry to speak on Aboriginal Tourism

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 09:31:00 -0700

The Chief Executive Officer of the Aboriginal Tourism Association of British Columbia (AtBC), Mr. Keith Henry, will give a keynote luncheon address on June 5 at the Heritage BC Annual Conference in Kelowna.

Keith Henry is a Métis person born in Thompson, Manitoba and raised in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. Mr. Henry earned a Bachelor of Education degree from the University of Saskatchewan in 1995. He re-located to Vancouver as the Chief Executive Officer with the Métis Nation British Columbia in 2003, a post he held for the next five years. In October 2008 Mr. Henry was contracted as AtBC’s CEO.

Mr. Henry’s address will provide an overview of the AtBC Blueprint Strategy, the most comprehensive aboriginal tourism plan in Canada which has become a model for other jurisdictions. His presentation will include a perspective on the Aboriginal tourism sector and AtBC strategies related to education and training, product development, and marketing.

For more program details and registration

» Annual Conference

Murry Kraus to Give Keynote Address

Thu, 26 Mar 2009 09:02:00 -0700

Murry Krause, President of the North Central Municipal Association, will give the opening keynote address at the 2009 Heritage BC annual conference in Kelowna, June 4 to 6. Murry is a Prince George municipal councillor and a board member of the Union of B.C. Municipalities. Professionally, Murry is the executive director of the Central Interior Native Health Society. Previously he was the executive director of the Prince George and District United Way, and has also held a variety of other community based social service non-profit leadership positions. Murry was recently appointed to the board of the Heritage Legacy Fund of B.C. Society, and is a past director of the Barkerville Heritage Trust.

The theme of the conference is 'The Way Forward: Meeting the Challenges of the 21st Century'. Murry will address this theme and the specific challenges ahead for B.C. communities, with a look at the role of heritage. Other conference speakers include Keith Henry, CEO of Aboriginal Tourism Association of British Columbia.

» Annual Conference: Kelowna June 4-6 2009

Reno, Restoration...or Rationalization

Mon, 09 Mar 2009 15:35:00 -0700

BY NICK RUSSELL: A REPLY TO 'RESTORATION VERSUS REHABILITATION':

I confess: when we bought our little house in James Bay in 1998, it was covered in asbestos shingles, and we took them off. And several graceful sash-windows had been modernized with aluminum picture windows, so we replaced them. Did we hesitate? Not for a nanosecond! Our neighbours were delighted, and we were proud to receive two heritage awards. But perhaps we were wrong: unquestionably, the asbestos shingles – added in the 1940s for insulation and easy maintenance – reflected the values of the time, and were part of the building’s history. And those aluminum windows, too, demonstrated the tastes of the 1970s. Although the paint shadows on the original 1891 siding gave us the details of the dining-room window (see photo), and the measurements exactly matched the double-hung sashes on the existing front bay – nonetheless, the new window is a replica.

Yet clearly every older building should not be frozen ‘as found’ to preserve the integrity of its history. Would anybody want to keep plywood patches over broken windows? Rehabilitation might call for repairing them with modern glass, to prove they’ve been replaced, while Restoration suggests using 19th Century glass, to maintain the ambience of the original. Or is that ‘restoration lite’?

In a sense, we are at a disadvantage in Victoria: we don’t have the European luxury of 1,000-year-old buildings to demonstrate the continuum of human history and culture. We only have 100 year old (or at best 150 year old) buildings, and precious few of them. Most days, I do not believe we should strip the siding off the St Ann’s Schoolhouse or Helmcken House, to show the original log construction, but should changes on every other building be left intact? We can admire and respect the evolution of an ancient castle, but a Victorian cottage cannot always transcend the indignities of later ‘modernization’. If one of a row of Arts & Crafts bungalows was converted to suites in the 1940s with three plywood front doors, should those be preserved for their historical story, at the cost of the streetscape? I don’t think so: this history can be carefully recorded for posterity, but the citizens deserve the integrity of the streetscape. Neighbours have rights too!

If we give our blessing to the concept of preserving changes in older buildings for their historical record, then perhaps we will keep asbestos and stucco, leaky vinyl windows and modern carports, and we will forever forfeit the look of missing gingerbread or turned columns or iron widow’s walks. And very soon, everything will blend, and we won’t even recognize heritage style.

However, even the national Standards & Guidelines for Conservation… accept restoration of a historic place, “as it appeared at a particular period in its history.”

“Restoration includes the removal of features from other periods in its history and the reconstruction of missing features from the restoration period. Restoration must be based on clear evidence and detailed knowledge of the earlier forms and materials being recovered.”

Rehabilitation is to be preferred – say the S&G – but Restoration, with minimal intervention, has its place.

In the past, much modification of old buildings was done in the name of expedience: A tower needs paint and probably leaks, so, off with its head! Another gets HardiePlank® over its original shingles; but now the surface is bland and all the decorative elements are gone. Or a lazy roofer hacks off the rafter-tails, to simplify his job. But all these compromises diminish not just that house but the entire street, and preserving the full richness of their history is not sufficient grounds to condemn them to perpetual mediocrity.

Viollet-le-Duc is an odd duck to cite in this context, because of course he ‘restored’ the gargoyles and grotesques of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, re-making many that were so corroded as to be unrecognizable and downright dangerous. Should he have left the rotting stumps? Certainly they would tell us about centuries of Parisian pollution. But something had to be done, not just for aesthetics but to preserve the structure and protect pedestrians.

Locally, several paint companies are striving to produce palettes that reflect original colours. And some communities are encouraging replacing missing house elements, such as Vancouver’s “Porch Project.” Why not? If they are authentic and they please the eye, then surely we are all the richer?

Values-based management shouldn’t focus exclusively on individual structures but should also recognize the values of style, street and community. I apologize for being white and middle-class…but so were William and Margaret Garnham, who built our house in 1891. And I doubt they would want me to restore my asbestos.

BY NICK RUSSELL, PRESIDENT, HALLMARK SOCIETY, VICTORIA

» READ 'RESTORATION VERSUS REHABILITATION' BY ALASTAIR KERR

PHOTO CAPTION: Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, 2008. The medieval ruins have Tudor and Georgian modifications: it would make no sense to remove them and restore the abbey.

Restoration versus Rehabilitation

Mon, 09 Mar 2009 15:27:00 -0700

Sad but true, so much of what passes for heritage conservation in British Columbia today is far closer to the theories and practice of the nineteenth century French architect and theorist, Eugene-Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc (1814–1879), than it is to the much more conservative approaches of John Ruskin or William Morris. Values-based management is still so poorly understood. Values of architectural history, particularly stylistic purity, trump all others as layers of a building’s history are scraped away and carted off to landfills. In their place an ersatz past is re-created in a finished state and simulacrum is passed off as authentic. Just as the work of restorers of medieval buildings, such as Viollett-le-Duc, are seen today as products of a fertile nineteenth century imagination and inauthentic as medieval heritage, so too will the restorations of today be seen in the future as products of an early twenty-first century imagination with little or no prior historical authenticity.

Restoration: Both the word and the thing are modern. To restore an edifice means neither to maintain it, nor to repair it, nor to rebuild it; it means to reestablish it in a finished state, which may in fact have never existed at any given time.

Eugene-Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc

This past spring my wife and I travelled in Italy and England for about a month. What struck us most was the general lack architectural purity and how so much of the past was a veritable dog’s breakfast, a palimpsest, layered and re-layered on buildings and throughout communities, giving places a deep resonance and a spirit of time and place. Tewkesbury Abbey, for instance, which began life as a Romanesque building with Gothic, Tudor, Stewart, Georgian and Victorian overlays, proudly displays its modernistic stained-glass Millennium window.

Buildings and communities are continually altered, adapted and repaired to extend their physical life and make them useful for the societies they are supposed to serve. As they pass through time, they leave in a textured fabric a treasure trove of stories, memories, hopes, dreams and tragedies that reflect the human condition. A problem with period restoration is that multiple meanings and are replaced with a single meaning and restored places have to wait for history to give them depth once again. It’s the difference between what the environmental movement calls a forest and a plantation.

The Standards and Guidelines for the Conservation of Historic Places in Canada defines rehabilitation as the action or process of making possible a continuing or compatible
contemporary use of a historic place through repair, alterations and/or additions while protecting its heritage value. There are a couple of important ideas to note. First, there is no mention about returning historic places back to how they looked at any time in their past (that’s restoration). Rehabilitation is about repair, alterations and additions. Second, however, rehabilitation does not condone any kind of repair, alterations and additions, but ones which must also consider the heritage value of a place.

Now as long as we only preference architectural history and stylistic purity in our statements of significance, rehabilitation translates into restoration-lite. Once again history, tradition and cultural values that differ from the predominately white, middle-class, elite sense of historical hygiene are relegated to the dustbin of history. Perhaps it is time to understand the past as complex, contingent, multivalent and contested, and allow it to be presented in its full richness, instead of the currently prevailing astringency. And since rehabilitation addresses contemporary social needs and uses, the current changes and additions to a historic place only add more value for the future, much like what we see happening all over Europe and elsewhere in the world.

POSTED BY ALASTAIR KERR, BC HERITAGE BRANCH
A CONTINUING SERIES ON THE NEW HERITAGE CONSERVATION AND
VALUES-BASED HERITAGE CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT

» READ A REPLY TO THIS COLUMN BY NICK RUSSELL

Jennifer Barr

Mon, 09 Mar 2009 15:19:00 -0700

After 22 years on the job, Jennifer Barr has stepped down as executive director of the Victoria Heritage Foundation. She will continue with the VHF, however, as Education Director. Earning a BA in Art History from the University of Saskatchewan, Jennifer came to Victoria where she became involved in the heritage movement almost 30 years ago. She has been active ever since, including 11 years on the Hallmark Society executive. With further training from the University of Victoria, she became a consultant in 1984, working on heritage inventories and management plans for Saanich, Oak Bay, Victoria and Cumberland. In 1987 she joined the Victoria Heritage Foundation and managed their grants program for homeowners as well as a number of other initiatives. As education director she will continue to head up a number of projects, including the next volume of the very popular This Old House series.

Don Luxton: B.C. Heritage Award 2009

Mon, 09 Mar 2009 14:57:00 -0700

Well-known heritage consultant, advocate and author Don Luxton has been named by the Honourable Bill Bennett, Minister of Tourism, Culture and the Arts, to receive the 2009 British Columbia Heritage Award. Conferred annually by the provincial government, the British Columbia Heritage Award recognizes an individual whose long-term leadership and contributions to the conservation of British Columbia’s heritage have been exemplary. The award includes a ministry gift of $10,000 to a non-profit heritage-related organization or project, designated by the award recipient. The award will be presented at the Heritage BC Annual Awards Ceremony in Kelowna in June 2009.

» B.C. Heritage Awards: Don Luxton

Victoria Protects Heritage Shop Interior

Fri, 13 Feb 2009 09:56:00 -0800

Against the owner’s wishes, on February 12 the City of Victoria Council voted to designate the interior of Rogers’ Chocolates on Government Street. Interior designations are relatively rare in B.C., and this is the first without the owner’s consent.

The local retail landmark is a National Historic Site, largely on the strength of its ornate Art Nouveau interior which is virtually unchanged after a century. It has always been a chocolate shop, owned by the same firm.

The controversy began early in 2008 when it was learned that Rogers had received City approval, without a heritage review, to significantly alter and expand their store’s 950 square foot interior. While the store is within the Old Town Heritage Conservation Area, the interior is not covered, and National Historic Site status carries no site protection.

The project attracted considerable media attention, and work stopped while the owner and the City reviewed the situation. Then last fall Rogers informed the City that they intended to go ahead with their expansion as originally planned. Council responded by ordering a 60-day delay while a designation bylaw was considered. With the 60-day hold running out, Council had to either designate or let the alterations proceed.

Under the Local Government Act, the owner of a designated property has the right to pursue compensation if loss of value can be demonstrated. Speaking at the designation public hearing, legal counsel for Rogers indicated that the firm intends to take up this option. To date, there has never been a successful bid to receive compensation for designation in B.C.

Despite the prospect of a bid for compensation, the designation motion passed easily, with only one councillor not in support.

PHOTO: ROGERS' CHOCOLATES

Fire at Craigflower Manor

Fri, 06 Feb 2009 15:05:00 -0800

Fire broke out at Craigflower Manor in View Royal near Victoria at about 5:00 PM on Friday, January 23. The historic site has a direct link to the local Fire Department about one kilometer away, and a crew responded immediately and had the fire out within minutes.

Craigflower Manor is the third oldest house from the colonial period in British Columbia. It is owned by the province, and managed by The Land Conservancy, which also operates historic Craigflower School on the other side of the Gorge.

According to Ian Fawcett, Deputy Executive Director of TLC, “the fire began in a heater installed below the staircase. It very quickly burned the staircase and some of the adjoining walls. But that is the extent of the specific fire damage. There was also some heat damage to the walls, woodwork and wallpaper in the main hallway and in the upstairs hallway. Due to the care and diligence of the firefighters, the only things that were water damaged were the carpets in the main hallway. Everything else is smoke damaged to some extent, but that is all.”

Preliminary estimates of the cost of the damage were between $100,000 and $200,000. The event attracted considerable media attention, and heritage minister Bill Bennett toured the site the following Monday. Craigflower Manor would normally open to the public in May, but it is not clear whether that will still be possible. In the meantime, TLC is putting together a restoration plan.

Green Rehabilitation and Sustainability Forums

Wed, 14 Jan 2009 10:18:00 -0800

Anyone tackling a heritage rehabilitation project these days has to answer to a lot of bosses. First there are the needs of the owner/developer. The project has to make economic sense and meet the program needs of the users. Then there are the regulations: building code, bylaws, and other legislation.

Many jurisdictions now apply the Standards and Guidelines for the Conservation of Historic Places in Canada. And there is also LEED (Leadership in Environment and Energy Design) which is a rating system, not a regulation, but a growing influence on both new construction and rehabilitation. Can these various demands and desires be balanced? Can good project design satisfy the codes and regulations, stay on budget, and still retain heritage character?

A series of three forums this winter sponsored by the Cascadia Region Green Building Council tackled these questions in Victoria, Kelowna and Vancouver. Bringing together practitioners such as architects, engineers, contractors and trades, building officials, heritage professionals, and provincial government staff, the two-day forums looked at the current regulatory environment as it applies to existing buildings. Presentations and panel discussions were complemented by tours of actual projects underway.

The outcome of these sessions will be summarized in a Cascadia report that should be available in a couple of months. The forums, financially assisted by the Heritage Branch and promoted by Heritage BC, were a first. The most important outcome may be the link forged between the worlds of heritage conservation and sustainable development. We have a lot in common. This link needs to be strengthened as we move toward a sustainable future.

There will be a session at the 2009 Heritage BC Annual Conference in Kelowna, June 4-6.

More about the Cascadia Region Green Building Council
» www.cascadiagbc.org

Check here for upcoming events
» Events

50 Heritage Projects Funded

Tue, 06 Jan 2009 09:35:00 -0800

In a dramatic finish to B.C.’s 150th anniversary year, the Heritage Legacy Fund awarded grants to over 50 community projects. Ranging from exhibits to special events and upgrades for heritage facilities, the projects will take place in 37 B.C. communities over the next three months.

The $1 million BC150-Heritage Legacy Fund Program was launched on December 3, 2008 by Bill Bennett, provincial Minister of Tourism, Culture and the Arts. Offering grants of up to $20,000, the program was immediately flooded with applications. Before the end of the month the program budget had been completely allocated to a wide range of community-based projects.

Welcome to the new website

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 16:15:00 -0800

With a completely fresh look, better organization and lots of news, we are very pleased to launch the new Heritage BC website. We'll do our best to keep you informed about what's happening around the province in heritage.

In addition to the redesigned site and the Quarterly newsletter, we also invite you to subscribe to Update which we will email periodically with recent announcements and news. Please subscribe with your email address in the sign-up form on the right.

Your comments and feedback are most welcome!

» Contact us

New Heritage BC Website

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 14:03:29 -0800

Pat Carney Receives Governors' Award

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 13:45:00 -0800

Senator Pat Carney of B.C. received the inaugural Governors’ Award from the Heritage Canada Foundation on Parliament Hill on November 20, 2008. The award honoured Ms. Carney’s decade-long campaign which led to the passage of Bill S-215, An Act to Protect Heritage Lighthouses, earlier this year. Reintroducing the Bill in 2006, she saw it through even after her retirement from the Senate last January. Ms. Carney is now working on the implementation of the legislation and creation of a national lighthouse network. For more information contact Carolyn Quinn: cquinn@heritagecanada.org

Click here for recent article

» News : Lighthouse Bill

New Funding Program

Sat, 06 Dec 2008 12:44:00 -0800

A new funding program for heritage, BC150-Heritage Legacy Funding, was announced by the Honourable Bill Bennett, Minister of Tourism, Culture and the Arts at Emily Carr House in Victoria on Wednesday, December 03, 2008.

The new program, to be administered by the Heritage Legacy Fund of BC Society, provides up to $20,000 to non-profit societies, charitable organizations and local governments. No matching funds are required. The total allocation for the program is $1,000.000.

Applications are being received until funds are utilized, up to February 16, 2009. Projects must be complete by March 31.

For more information
» www.heritagelegacyfund.ca

Photo: The Honourable Bill Bennett and Ida Chong, Minister of Technology, Trade and Economic Development, announce the new heritage funding program

(Heritage BC)

Principles of Heritage Tourism

Thu, 27 Nov 2008 10:15:00 -0800

If you would like your community to get involved in the heritage tourism business in B.C., a good place to start is with the Principles To Guide The Heritage Tourism Industry developed by the ICOMOS International Scientific Committee on Cultural Tourism. These are a few of its findings and recommendations:

Since domestic and international tourism is among the foremost vehicles for cultural exchange, conservation should provide responsible and well managed opportunities for members of the host community and visitors to experience and understand that community's heritage and culture at first hand.
The relationship between Heritage Places and Tourism is dynamic and may involve conflicting values. It should be managed in a sustainable way for present and future generations.
Conservation and Tourism Planning for Heritage Places should ensure that the Visitor Experience will be worthwhile, satisfying and enjoyable.
Host communities and indigenous peoples should be involved in planning for conservation and tourism.
Tourism and conservation activities should benefit the host community.
Tourism promotion programs should protect and enhance Natural and Cultural Heritage characteristics.

FROM PRINCIPLES TO GUIDE HERITAGE TOURISM, ICOMOS

An Economic Generator

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 11:47:00 -0800

Increasingly in British Columbia we are hearing the word tourism paired with such terms as aboriginal, sport, dive, ski and heritage. What is this all about and how will it impact and benefit heritage in B.C.?

Heritage areas and historic places represent a significant component in the cultural heritage tourism infrastructure. But the heritage tourism product goes far beyond gated attractions traditionally thought of as the only heritage product. Heritage tourism products include main streets and downtowns with their vibrant food and accommodation services housed in historic places. They include ethnocultural districts and sites, and themed routes or trails, each providing a value-added and authentic experience for the visitor. They include tour operators and tour packages highlighting the unique and dynamic history and heritage of a community or region. And they can include businesses in historic places, such as restaurants, hotels, pubs, and shops.

Considering all of these together is essential when developing a heritage tourism strategy for your community. Developing a successful community heritage tourism strategy requires collaboration between heritage interests, the Chamber of Commerce and other tourism operators, local government, as well as the local and regional tourism organizations. It involves assessment of the heritage assets, a SWOT (Strengths & Weaknesses, Opportunities &Threats) analysis, research, marketing, good visitor service and probably some performance analysis to determine the benefits of the strategy to the community.

A number of resources and training opportunities are available to communities to increase their skill and capacity to develop heritage tourism strategies.

» Resources : Heritage Tourism

BY JENNIFER IREDALE, SENIOR CURATOR, HERITAGE BRANCH, MINISTRY OF TOURISM, SPORT AND THE ARTS
HBC QUARTERLY FALL 2007

Ridgeway School, North Vancouver

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 11:31:00 -0800

Ridgeway Elementary is a heritage school success story. Very nearly lost, through collaborative efforts the school is now protected and headed for upgrading instead of demolition.

Occupying a whole city block in a North Vancouver residential neighbourhood, Ridgeway Elementary is  on the City’s heritage register.  The handsome Edwardian Baroque building has been a landmark since  its central section, designed by architects Jones and Gillam, was  constructed in 1912.
In 2005, Ridgeway was suddenly threatened with demolition because of estimated costs for seismic upgrading. To save their historic school, residents mobilized and formed the Ridgeway Heritage Society. The City and School District #44 worked willingly with the Society to find a solution. In 2008, Ridgeway School was protected as part of a zoning bylaw amendment that involved other school sites, bonus building density and density transfers.

Now an inspiration for other B.C. communities to protect and keep their irreplaceable heritage schools, Ridgeway is the ideal “poster child” for the 2009 Heritage Week theme, “The Heritage of Education”.

» Heritage Week 2009

Butterworth Cottage, Government House, Victoria

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 11:27:00 -0800

On September 18 the Honourable Steven L. Point, Lieutenant Governor of B.C., welcomed guests to the grounds of Government House in Victoria to celebrate  the rehabilitation of Butterworth Cottage, one of the oldest buildings in Victoria.  Butterworth Cottage was rehabilitated as part of a master plan for the original  service buildings on the Estate. The Cottage will serve as an interpretive centre  and a potential tea room.

Butterworth Cottage is part of the Cary Castle Mews, the collection of wooden service buildings located on the southeast side of the Government House grounds. This unique set of buildings dates back to the early 1870s and includes stables,  carriage house, wash house, root cellar, coal shed and Butterworth Cottage.  The Cottage was originally built as a poultry barn and in the 1920s was partially adapted as a residence for the head gardener.

Government House worked closely with the Heritage Branch of the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and the Arts to develop this Government House Foundation project. In addition to the heritage stewardship advisory role, the Heritage Branch awarded $25,000 towards the project.

FROM HBC QUARTERLY FALL 2008

Henderson House, Powell River

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 11:20:00 -0800

Big Dreams Come True!

The message from the Powell River heritage community is “don’t give up”.  After six years of advocating for the protection of the Dr. Andrew Henderson house, the dream of restoring it for future generations is about to be realized with the Powell River Townsite Heritage Society’s purchase of the property. The house has been under threat of demolition for years.

The Society had been working behind the scenes with the owners, the Powell River Division of Catalyst pulp and paper, and finally, after countless discussions, they decided to sell. Rebecca Vincent, President of the Townsite Heritage Society says, “Dr. Henderson’s house is one of Powell River’s most historically important buildings, not only because it was the first house built in the company-owned town in 1911, but because a remarkable pioneer lived in the house.” It will be an enormous labour of love to restore and protect this treasure, and the end result will be a perfect complement to Historic Powell River, designated a National Historic District in 1995.

After sitting empty and boarded up for over seven years, the first order of business has been organizing volunteer work parties to help clear away garbage and overgrown vegetation so that the job of assessing the exterior and interior structures for restoration can begin. While preliminary stages of restoration have begun, for now it is just to stabilize the house, reconnect services and stem the progression of further decay until a conservation architect can assess the house and guide us in the delicate and detailed process of bringing Dr. Henderson’s house back to its former magnificence.

A copy of the blueprint for the 1920 addition to the house, which became the adjoining office for Dr. Henderson, has been provided by the Powell River Museum and will help tremendously in recreating the original state of structural and interior design standards. The blueprint drawing annotations shine a light on the past, revealing the use of decorative molding, wooden panels, location of doorways incorporated into walls, fenestrations, and classic Arts & Crafts design in the small roofs over the exterior doors. The piece of the puzzle that is missing, however, is an accurate layout of the main part of the house.

A key step for securing heritage restoration grants, and keeping the attention of the provincial and/or national heritage community, is having Henderson House added to the City of Powell River’s Heritage Register. Ann Nelson, Society Vice-President, has written the requisite Statement of Significance, and a request for inclusion on the Powell River Community Heritage Register has been made. Contacts are also being renewed with local businesses ready to volunteer their services to this great project. With the green light now on, they have been re-secured as we move into implementation of Phase One.

Besides providing a permanent home for the Townsite Heritage Society, the restored Henderson House will help us to accomplish some other long-term goals: a collaborative demonstration project with the Powell River campus of Vancouver Island University for heritage restoration carpentry training; a Townsite Interpretive Centre; and a medical museum that showcases the historic importance of Dr.  Henderson and his work in the community. Other opportunities are sure to emerge as the project evolves.

BY ROSEMARY BJORKNAS : HBC QUARTERLY SUMMER 2008

Revelstoke School

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 15:49:00 -0800

Mountain View School, historically referred to as Revelstoke High School, has been a prominent institutional building in Revelstoke since 1914, the same year that Mount Revelstoke National Park was established and Revelstoke hosted its first ski jumping competition. The brick and mortar building features neoclassical revival elements with a large portico and columns that create a strong front entrance. The school building can be viewed from the Columbia River and rivals the historic Court House and surrounding mountains for dominance in the viewscape.

In anticipation of a rapid increase in enrollment, the school district hired Otto William Abrahamson to construct the high school. Mr. Abrahamson was a well known contractor in town. When first built, the building contained four classrooms, an office, a typing room and two rooms in the basement for domestic science and physics.

“When it opened in 1914, Mayor Kilpatrick, School Inspector A.E. Miller, and Chairman of the School Board Horace Manning, praised the community for providing a high school with facilities second to none in the province.”

(Revelstoke History and Heritage, by Ruby M. Nobbs)

In fact, the school exceeded the needs of Revelstoke at the time and did not reach capacity until the 1930’s. Unfortunately, later on more space was needed and an unsympathetic addition was placed on the side of the building. Due to anticipated school consolidation, the Mountain View School is expected to be closed in the next few years. The high school will be moved to a new building and the original use of Mountain View School, which has endured for 94 years, will cease. It is the hope of the Revelstoke Community Heritage Commission that this building find a new purpose and continue to be a landmark in the community.

BY JOANN PEACHLEY, ASSISTANT PLANNER, CITY OF REVELSTOKE

Peachland School

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 15:26:00 -0800

When Peachland School finally closed for good in 2002, the School District turned the building over to the District of Peachland. Since then, not a lot has happened. A study of possible reuse has been done, which concluded that the building is basically sound and that a new use should be found. But so far, council has not acted on this recommendation.

Built in 1908, the school initially served grades 1–12. That first year it was lit with candles and kerosene lamps, and the toilets were out back. In the mid 1930’s an athletic hall was built for basketball and all community activities. Its regulation hardwood floor was the envy of neighboring communities.

In 1948 it became an Elementary school, and later a Primary school, then closed for good in 2002.

On Saturday, September 27, 2008 the Peachland Historical Society sponsored an open house at the old school and the response was overwhelming, with an estimated 500 people attending. There was unanimous and enthusiastic support for preserving and using the school, according to the society. Both candidates for mayor vowed to preserve and restore the school. Heritage BC wrote to Peachland Mayor Graham Reid and Council on October 7, urging that they not delay further in their decision about the fate of historic Peachland School, and recommending the Heritage Legacy Fund as a possible source of financial assistance.

BC Hydro Recants

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 17:55:00 -0800

Readers may have seen a recent BC Hydro newspaper advertisement promoting Energy Star windows. “Having old windows”, the half-page ad said, “is like having  no windows at all”.

Heritage BC immediately wrote to BC Hydro, saying that “to imply, as the advertisement does, that one cannot live in comfort in an older house without replacing the windows, is simply not creditable”. Our purpose, of course, was to try to fend off the rush to tear out the windows in all of B.C.’s heritage homes in the name of  energy conservation. As we have pointed out in recent issues of Heritage BC Quarterly, there are many ways to improve the efficiency of the older home without discarding its heritage values and tossing out perfectly serviceable units. It’s not a question of heritage or conservation, but heritage and conservation.

Susan Yurkovich, Senior Vice President, Corporate Affairs, for BC Hydro has written back to assure us;
“We recognize the value that heritage buildings have in British Columbia, and in no way are we advocating the replacement of windows in these structures. We will change the headline in our window campaign ads to ‘having  inefficient windows is like having no windows at all’”.

This is a good result. But we will have to remain vigilant if heritage is not to become a victim of the growing wave of interest in creating a more sustainable, greener built environment.

Old windows, with outside  storm windows, are much  better than no windows at all.

BY RICK GOODACRE, HERITAGE BC

Green Building Code Amendments

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 17:50:00 -0800

On April 15, the minister responsible for housing, Rich Coleman, announced that new Building Code requirements to increase energy and water efficiency would come into effect on September 5, 2008. The Heritage Branch has been working with the Office of Housing and Construction Standards for some time now to promote the development of the Code to facilitate rehabilitation and a more sympathetic  approach to code compliance for historic places.

In a discussion paper on ‘Greening the Building Code’ that was widely circulated in late 2007, the potential conflicts between the sensitive characteristics of designated historic places and new energy efficiency requirements were addressed by a proposed exemption for such places. However, there is no such wording in the published Code amendment. The Office of Housing and Construction Standards (OHCS) has explained that the way they decided to operationalize this Code amendment as it pertains to all existing buildings, including legally protected  historic places, is to rely on the present provisions of the Code that allow discretion in the application of the requirements to existing buildings.

The Heritage Branch is assured by OHCS that when applied to the historic built environment (existing buildings), the Code is intended to balance safety and economics, and that the way this is achieved is open to interpretation and innovation. Of course, as we have seen in practice since the publication of the heritage buildings appendix to the Code, the grey area that surrounds discretionary powers usually limits the usage of such  options in favour of more concrete, explicit standards.

So while we wait for the development of a code for buildings, as opposed to the code for building that we have now, it is up to designers to exercise creativity in  addressing code compliance issues in historic places. And it is up to regulatory bodies to be open to considering creative alternatives lest a blanket of bland, albeit energy efficient, homogeneity descend upon our province.

BY RICHARD LINZEY, BC HERITAGE BRANCH

Tips for Upgrading Heritage Homes

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 17:41:00 -0800

Engineering co-op student Mike Mutrie has just completed an investigation for the Heritage Branch of the traditionally-constructed residential building envelope.  Mutrie’s findings support what many have known for years: traditional building  assemblies that breathe (transpire) require a different approach from modern ones that are sealed and need assistance to breathe. Further, new technologies offer a relatively pain-free way to improve the performance of old building envelopes.  His findings provide a useful departure point for owners wishing to retain the  character of their homes while improving their energy performance. Read the full article with tips for conserving energy and upgrading a typical 1913 traditionally-constructed wood frame home.

BY RICHARD LINZEY, BC HERITAGE BRANCH
READ THE FULL ARTICLE UNDER RESOURCES: GUIDES & TIPS
» Upgrading Heritage Homes

Upgrading Windows in Heritage Buildings

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 17:28:00 -0800

Climate change action is something everyone is concerned with today. The BC government has pledged to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption. A new BC Green Building Code is coming that will require higher energy efficiency standards for both new construction and rehabilitation projects. Can heritage buildings measure up to these new demands without sacrificing the very qualities that we value in them?

Many energy upgrades (such as installing energy star appliances) do no harm to vintage buildings. Some, however, such as window replacement, can have a significant negative impact.

BY JENNIFER IREDALE, BC HERITAGE BRANCH
READ THE FULL ARTICLE UNDER RESOURCES: GUIDES & TIPS
» Upgrading Window in Heritage Buildings

Heritage Goes Green

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 16:41:00 -0800

Recent projects that pull Heritage Revitalization & Sustainability together:

Five. 73-91 East 27th Avenue, Vancouver

These five houses all located on  a single 50 foot lot were built in 1912 and are listed on the Vancouver Heritage  Register. Their rehabilitation included an “on-demand” in-floor heating system  (EnerGuide 82 rated) that is anticipated to reduce green house gas emissions by  12 tonnes per home per year. Also includes healthy interior finishes and extensive use of FSC sustainably harvested woods.

The Irving K. Barber Learning Centre at UBC

Commonly known as the Main Library, the new Learning Centre is currently under construction. The heritage core of the library is  being preserved, and the new portion of the building will feature a green system  for air conditioning.

The Cornerstone Building, Fernwood & Gladstone

This two-storey, 1909  brick heritage building has recently been rehabilitated by the Fernwood  Neighbourhood Resource Group. The heat for the building is now supplied via  geothermal units. Water use is minimized through a number of conserving fixtures and a recycling and composting plan is in place for residents. The Cornerstone  has been rehabilitated with low cost housing on the upper floors and commercial  on the main floor. Original plate glass windows and doors are retained on the ground level to retain the heritage character of the building.

Mountain Equipment Co-op, Government and Fisgard

The 15,000 square foot renovation project was developed with LEED Commercial Interior compliance in mind. An air-to-air heat pump system combined with other efficiency measures  resulted in a 35 per cent reduction in energy consumption. Dual flush toilets  supplied by a stormwater catchment system along with low-flow fixtures reduced water consumption by 48 per cent. Interior finishes were minimized. It is anticipated that the project will achieve a LEED Silver rating.

Send us your stories on heritage conservation & sustainability:
Jennifer.Iredale@gov.bc.ca

BY JENNIFER IREDALE, BC HERITAGE BRANCH
FROM HBC QUARTERLY WINTER 2008

Embodied Energy 2 : Life Cycle Assessment

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 16:25:00 -0800

The Heritage Branch, Ministry of Tourism, Sport and the Arts, Province of British Columbia, is currently completing Life Cycle Assessments of two publicly-owned heritage buildings – the Emily Carr House in Victoria and Ridgeway Elementary School in Vancouver – in order to evaluate the environmental and economic implications of preserving heritage buildings.

Though the focus of the study is not on cultural values, they are an important aspect of heritage preservation and sustainable communities that set the context for environmental and economic analysis. As stated in Part 1 of this series (Spring 2007), the primary directive of this project is to develop a model that will evaluate heritage buildings over their whole life cycle.

From an environmental standpoint, Life Cycle Assessments quantify and justify the rehabilitation of heritage buildings. Life Cycle Assessments demonstrate the Association for Preservation Technology slogan "The Greenest Building is the Building that Has Already Been Built". Life Cycle Assessments recognize the embodied energy implications of preserving heritage buildings as counterparts to the operational energy savings of new 'green' buildings; they acknowledge that heritage buildings contribute to sustainable development.

Four steps in conducting a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)

1. Goal and Scope Definition.

The life cycle of the building must first be defined in terms of its potential lifetime; its predicted use and maintenance; the possible repair, replacement or renovation of its components; and its final potential demolition and recycling. Furthermore, system boundaries must be set in terms of physical restrictions (the building envelope) and also life cycle process restrictions (which processes and aspects of the life cycle to include). Finally, a critical review process is also required to ensure that the data and processes specified are in keeping with the goals of the LCA and that the report will be consistent and impartial.

2. Inventory Analysis

This stage involves quantifying the relevant energy inputs and energy and emissions outputs of the defined system through data collection and calculation for each individual process.

3. Impact Assessment

Category Definition: The environmental, social, and economic categories ("impact categories") addressed within the LCA.
Classification: The input-output data collected in the inventory analysis are classified into the appropriate impact categories.
Characterization: In each impact category, the allocated data is ranked in terms of its relative or potential importance. This serves to standardize the LCA results
Weighting: After the data in each impact category has been characterized, the impact categories themselves are weighted or ranked in terms of their relative ethical, social, environmental and economic importance. The process of weighting is often used to determine a 'score' for the LCA that can be compared to the results of other buildings' LCAs.

4. Interpretation of results

This final step involves the identification of environmental, social, economic and cultural impacts and the resulting conclusions and recommendations. These conclusions and recommendations address the goal of the LCA.

As mentioned in my previous article, most Life Cycle Assessments do not take into account the embodied energy of buildings. However, the Athena Institute has recently released ATHENA Software Environmental Impact Estimator. Founded ten years ago, the Athena Institute is a not-for-profit organization that directs and undertakes research in conjunction with engineering firms that facilitates incorporating environmental considerations into the building design process. This is the only existing software to calculate the LCA of buildings in North America. Its mandate is to consider the environmental issues associated with constructing a building equally with traditional design issues, such as cost.

The Environmental Impact Estimator evaluates the 'cradle to grave' life cycle of a building in terms of the primary embodied energy (including calculating the 'upstream, pre-combustion' effects of creating and transporting energy), global warming potential, solid waste emissions, air and water pollutants, and natural resource usage. The ATHENA software, like other LCA methods, models the complete structure and envelope of the building (the system being considered). What differentiates the ATHENA software is that it also models maintenance and replacement effects in terms of the building type (residential, office building), location (in either Canadian or American regions), and a user defined total building lifetime.

Furthermore, it calculates the conversion between operational energy to primary energy (embodied energy) and the resulting carbon dioxide emissions.
Finally, the ATHENA software simulates the energy and environmental costs associated with the demolition of the building and the ensuing deposition of the building materials. After examining a trial version of the ATHENA Software for its suitability for the project, the full version will be used by the Heritage Branch as a valuable tool for evaluating the positive environmental implications in preserving heritage buildings.

The identified stakeholders for this project are:

Heritage Branch
Canada Green Building Council
BC Hydro
Clio Arts Associates Ltd. (managers of the Emily Carr House)
Association for Preservation Technology International (APT)
City of Victoria
Heritage BC
City Green (a not-for-profit environmental organization)
Parks Canada, Department of Heritage, Historic Places Initiative
British Columbia Building Policy Branch

These stakeholders recognize that heritage conservation, beyond supporting sustainable cultural development, also supports sustainable environmental,
economic, and social development.

BY DIAN ROSS, UVIC ENGINEERING CO-OP STUDENT WITH HERITAGE BRANCH

FROM HBC QUARTERLY SUMMER 2007

Embodied Energy 1 : Sustainable Development

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 15:10:00 -0800

All levels of government – and many non-government organizations – have identified sustainability as a key policy issue.

Sustainability (or sustainable development) was formally defined by the World Commission on Environment and Development (the Brundtland Commission) in 1987 in a report called Our Common Future as development that “meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”

The concept of sustainable development recognizes that while development is necessary, it must be based upon the efficient and responsible use of limited natural, cultural, and economic resources. Sustainable development provides a framework that integrates development with environmental policies.

Those of us who work, volunteer, or are interested in heritage are aware that the conservation of existing and heritage buildings share many of the same outcomes identified as sustainability goals. However, most existing buildings – and, in particular, heritage ones – do not compare favorably with the energy efficiency of new ‘green’ buildings. This is due to the fact that most environmental assessment models utilize the easy-to-measure operational energy usage of a building instead the difficult-to-measure embodied energy of a building when calculating environmental impact.

Embodied energy is a quantitative measure of the energy consumed during the extraction, manufacture, and transportation of materials, as well as the final creation of the building. As a result, the embodied energy of a building can also be used to calculate the environmental impact of the building, and can, in particular, be used to calculate the total carbon dioxide emissions from constructing the building.

From an environmental standpoint, the embodied energy of existing buildings is one of the most compelling arguments for preserving them. When a building is demolished, energy expenditure is required and all the embodied energy is lost. Added to the environmental cost is the increase in landfill waste. Consequently, considering the loss of embodied energy and the environmental impact resulting from demolition is key to determining the environmental cost of a new ‘green’ building.

Heritage buildings may also be considered more durable – and consequently more sustainable – than other categories of existing buildings. First, most have necessarily and by definition lasted longer than other buildings. Heritage buildings were often constructed using the best materials and craftsmanship, which is not necessarily the case with others built more recently. And finally, heritage buildings, unlike many new buildings, are based on the principle of maintainable building assemblies. That is, individual components of an assembly can be replaced without replacing the whole assembly, minimizing operational energy costs.

Minimizing car usage and the resultant pollutants has been identified as one of the foremost goals of sustainable development. Heritage buildings and neighborhoods are, by their very nature, in accordance with this goal. Since heritage buildings are often situated in central locations in communities, the use of cars is not as necessary as in suburban developments. Heritage neighborhoods are usually in close proximity to bus, bicycle and walking routes.

Furthermore, though heritage buildings may have high operational energy costs, they often incorporate ‘green’ building concepts in their original design. For example, the use of awnings, shutters and natural ventilation help conserve energy use.

Preservation of heritage buildings also preserves the natural landscape by reducing development on new sites. This, in turn, reduces the negative environmental impact associated with developing new land.

The concept of repairing versus replacing, inherent in heritage conservation, is also inherent in sustainable development. The preservation of heritage buildings can support specialized industries such as tourism, thereby supporting societal sustainable development. In addition, heritage conservation contributes to sustainable economic development through training and employment of local specialized trades, manufacturers and industries. Finally, preserving heritage buildings preserves another limited resource: cultural objects.

The rehabilitation of existing and heritage buildings therefore shares many of the same results as sustainable, ‘green’ development. However, as we have seen, measuring the embodied energy and the durability of buildings is difficult, and there is no existing model which fully accounts for and calculates these factors. As a result, heritage buildings are not yet properly recognized for their contribution to sustainable development.

BY DIAN ROSS, CO-OP STUDENT EMPLOYEE WITH HERITAGE BRANCH

FROM HBC QUARTERLY SPRING 2007

Conserving the Modern Era

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 14:46:00 -0800

Victoria’s Chamber of Commerce reacted angrily to the unanimous decision by Victoria Council to add 11 buildings from the modern era to the City’s heritage register. Several of the property owners also objected at a July 10 public hearing prior to the vote. The Chamber claimed that the Council decision overlooked the owners’ objections. Being on the register, the Chamber said, “potentially limits the use of private property (which) creates market uncertainly and will negatively impact on investment potential for property owners”.

In fact, a heritage register is just a list. As Heritage BC pointed out at the public hearing, there is often a list at city hall of buildings of heritage interest; the register just makes it official. The purpose of the register is not to limit use; the Local Government Act does not give council such powers. It simply flags properties as being of heritage interest, and makes it official. This is better for everyone, including the owners, and tends to head off last-minute dust-ups when development proposals are brought forward.

Victoria’s heritage register has several hundred properties listed. Adding a few more seldom provokes this kind of reaction from the business community, and the City had taken care to consult with the owners in advance. Possibly it was the fact that these properties were from the modern design era, which may look like the heritage program is expanding into new territory, that prompted the response. In any event, Council saw the sense of the proposal and had no problem adding the eleven modern-era properties to the register. Hopefully over time the lack of any real threat will become evident to owners, and the Chamber.

Lighthouse Bill Passes

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 14:35:00 -0800

Bill S-215, An Act to Protect Heritage Lighthouses, was passed by Parliament in May 2008. Passage of the bill was a milestone for heritage conservation in Canada and a triumph for the heritage movement. S-215 was the seventh attempt, the first being introduced in the Senate in 2000. The new act will do several things:

provide a means for the selection and designation of federal heritage lighthouses
prevent the unauthorized alteration of federal heritage lighthouses
require that designated federal heritage lighthouses be maintained in  a manner consistent with accepted conservation standards
facilitate the sale or transfer of federal heritage lighthouses in order  to ensure the lighthouses’ public purpose

The act determines that there will be a clear process for the identification, maintenance and divestiture of federal lighthouses. It ensures increased protection for lighthouses under federal ownership and care. It also sets up new processes for public involvement:

public nominations of lighthouses to be considered for heritage designation
public consultation before alterations are made to heritage lighthouses
public notice of lighthouses considered surplus to the federal government
public notice of the transfer of a federal heritage lighthouse to a community  group or municipality
public meeting if a lighthouse is considered for sale to a private owner
public notice and public meeting if a lighthouse is to be demolished

The legislation will not come into force for another two years. This time will be used by the Minister of the Environment to develop the criteria for heritage lighthouse designation, as set out by the bill. The Minister will be assisted by a new advisory council, also mandated by the legislation The Department of Fisheries and Oceans, which is responsible for federal lighthouses, is required in this same two-year period to identify facilities it deems to be surplus. Communities will then have a further two years to petition the Minister for heritage designation of individual lighthouses, and propose community uses for any lighthouses considered surplus by DFO.

The Act, then, establishes a process to designate federal heritage lighthouses, and legislates that they will receive proper care and protection. The need for the Act grew out of the process of automation that began in the 1970s which led to neglect and even destruction of some historic lighthouses. Custodial departments had no mandate or means to deal with historic lighthouses. This Act creates a new layer of protection and gives the powers and responsibilities to the Minister of Environment.

There are about 250 lighthouses across Canada, in all provinces except Alberta and Saskatchewan. With fewer lighthouses going surplus out here, the west coast has been a little slower to get on the conservation bandwagon, but that may change now. Senator Pat Carney has been a west coast champion for the bill from the beginning, and played a major role in the final achievement of success. Recently retired, she continues to work for the cause as we move into the implementation phase.

FROM HBC QUARTERLY SUMMER 2008

Provincial Heritage Strategy

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 14:26:00 -0800

Heritage Branch staff recently held nine workshops to inform the development of the emerging provincial heritage strategy. The Branch heard from 184 stakeholders representing a diverse field that included Crown corporations, municipal and regional government land-use and economic development planners and building  inspectors, owners and operators of gated heritage attractions, educators, councillors and advisory committee members, tourism developers, heritage consultants, museums and archives operators, and volunteers in almost every one of these fields.

We asked three questions: why is heritage important to you, your organization, or your community; what are the challenges facing your heritage; and, how might we meet those challenges? The graphic recordings from these sessions have been transcribed by Branch staff and an on-line consultation is under way for those unable to attend the workshops in-person. It is hoped that the on-line consultation, in addition to augmenting the workshop findings, will provide quotable material that can be used to enhance the draft strategy. In addition, respondents will be asked to indicate whether they are willing to provide images to illustrate the strategy in due course.

Heritage Branch’s next step will be to prepare a report recording the findings of these research and consultation initiatives. The results will be available for review early in the new year so that stakeholders have an opportunity to ensure that  their observations have been accurately reflected. Further analysis of issues and opportunities will then allow the draft strategy to be prepared for the Minister’s consideration by March 31, 2009.

On behalf of the Heritage Branch, I would like to thank all of you who attended the workshops or who have already provided written submissions, and to reiterate that the strength of the draft strategy lies in how responsive it is to challenges to the sustainability of our historic places as expressed by British Columbians.

POSTED BY RICHARD LINZEY, SENIOR HERITAGE PLANNER, HERITAGE BRANCH

Insurance Problems Frustrate

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 14:17:00 -0800

Recently, I wrote about the Homeowner Protection Act (HPA) and how it is affecting
the rehabilitation of heritage buildings in B.C. The Act, introduced to restore consumer
confidence in the new-home market after the leaky condo scandal, requires that
warranty insurance be in place before a building permit can be obtained to
construct a new home.This applies as well to a heritage building being converted
to residential use, or a single-family heritage house converted to multiple residences.

The problem arises when heritage conversions are required to meet new construction
standards to get insurance. For example, a warranty provider might insist that existing
windows must be replaced with new, or that frame walls be taken back to the
studs and rebuilt to code.The potential impact on heritage character is enormous.

Following a second meeting between the Homeowner Protection Office, warranty
companies and heritage representatives this fall, Heritage BC and others are collecting
some case histories that illustrate our concerns. Here is one from Rossland.

In 2006, developer Zac Gribble purchased the 107-year-old firehall in Rossland.
It had been sitting mostly empty for some years, and he intended to redevelop the
property.To make the project work financially he needed to create strata condominium
units on the second level and a business on the ground floor. As this was a
new residential use upstairs, he had to get warranty insurance before he could start.
Three warranty insurance firms were approached, but initially none was willing to
take on or even review the project. The developer could not even obtain a building
permit. Several stressful months went by with no progress; meanwhile debt
servicing caused a near bankruptcy.After many attempts, National Home Warranty
agreed to review the project, but required substantial and expensive engineering.

After several months, National Home Warranty did provide insurance, but required
that the interior brick be covered up to increase insulation values.This was a major
issue for several reasons, including the loss of heritage character of the interior
and related loss of market appeal and value, and the cost to do this work that the
developer had not planned on. National Home Warranty would not back down, so
the heritage brick was covered up with two-by-four stud walls and drywalled over.

The net result, says the developer, was a project half a million dollars over budget
which he feels was almost entirely due to the unnecessary bureaucratic requirements
and resulting time delays. He summed it up this way:

“If another benevolent developer approached me about restoring a heritage building into sellable condos
I would regrettably have to counsel to avoid doing so as there are so many barriers,
restrictions and impediments to doing so. In my opinion, the current HPO legislation is set up to protect
homeowners from shoddy new construction and in doing so, also impedes worthy
re-development from happening, which is a shame as there are relatively few
salvageable heritage structures left in BC.The sustainable re-purposing of
these heritage buildings in a sensitive way guarantees that these cultural treasures
remain intact. My hope is that the BC government will change the current system
to encourage sensible re-development as opposed to continuing with a system
that discourages and ultimately prevents the restoration of our heritage buildings.
A good first step would be to have designated heritage buildings exempt from HPO
in addition to relaxations of the building codes relating to insulation values and
other impediments to restoring an older structure whilst maintaining its heritage.”

Heritage BC and representatives from government and the private sector continue
to work on this issue.

POSTED BY: RICK GOODACRE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, HERITAGE BC
FROM AN ARTICLE IN HBC QUARTERLY FALL 2007

Silvery Slocan Museum Get A New Roof

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 14:04:00 -0800

A grant of up to $25,000 from the Heritage Legacy Fund is helping this fall to put a new roof on the former Bank of Montreal building in New Denver, now the Silvery Slocan Museum.

Situated on the shore of Slocan Lake, surrounded by the Selkirk Mountains, the small rural community of New Denver was founded in 1892 by silver miners. Built in 1897, the imposing Bank of Montreal building has stood at the heart of New Denver for 111 years as a community landmark. The two storey building is a wood frame structure on timber sills, set on a loose rock base. On the west side of the building, overlooking Slocan Lake, the covered second floor balcony with distinctive fretwork extends across the sidewalk below, supported on slender wooden posts.

The banking hall and vault occupied the main floor, and a two-bedroom apartment upstairs was originally used as living quarters for bank staff. The only bank in New Denver for over 50 years, the Bank of Montreal operated continuously in this  location until 1969. In 1942, the British Columbia Security Commission built a  single storey wing on the East side of the structure to act as a local office during  the internment of Japanese Canadians from the Lower Mainland.

After the bank closed, the building was leased for a couple of years to the  Chamber of Commerce for use as a museum. Then in 1971 it was purchased by the Village of New Denver, and museum management was transferred to the Silvery Slocan Historical Society. The museum operates seasonally, receiving upwards of 4,000 visitors during the summer months. Since 2004, the space has been shared with the Tourism BC Visitor Information Centre, operated by the Slocan Lake Chamber of Commerce.

Largely unchanged since its construction, the building was designated as a Municipal Heritage Site in 1991 and a Provincial Heritage Site in 1994. Following a feasibility study in 1993, major conservation work was undertaken  from 1994 to 2001, including foundation work, exterior painting, septic system  upgrading, installing a fire suppression system, restoring interior finishes and enclosing the south wall of the annex. Replacement of the 35 year old cedar shake roof  is the final step, and, with assistance from the Heritage Legacy Fund, will be  completed this fall.

Seven New Projects Supported

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 13:57:00 -0800

Several new projects were given financial assistance by the Heritage Legacy Fund when the board of directors met by conference call on July 23. The total value of the grants to seven communities was $126,000.

In the West Kootenays, just over $19,000 was awarded to assist with the cost of installing a fire suppression system in the Silverton Memorial Hall, and exterior painting.
A grant of $14,000 went to the Village of New Denver to replace the roof on the Silvery Slocan Museum building, a former Bank of Montreal.
In the East Kootenays, the Creston & District Museum will receive over $12,000 toward repairs to the museum’s south wing.
In the northwest, the North Pacific Historic Fishing Village, a National Historic Site near Port Edward, was awarded $22,000 to assist with maintenance and conservation work on three of their many historic buildings.
A maximum grant of $25,000 was awarded to the City of Kelowna and the Central Okanagan Heritage Society which will be used at the historic Brent’s Grist Mill site.
On Vancouver Island, the Oak Bay United Church in Oak Bay will get $25,000 for urgently-needed masonry repairs.
The District of Central Saanich requested and received $8.000 for repairs and painting of the residence and garage in  Butterfield Park.

The board also approved a changed use for an earlier award of $25,000 to the S.S. Master Society. These funds will now go to emergency fuel tank repairs that will get the vintage tugboat back into active duty as a movable historic site.

A Gift for Heritage

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 13:47:00 -0800

The Heritage Legacy Fund was established to encourage and help finance community heritage conservation efforts throughout BC. In just three years, the Fund has already supported 57 projects in 40 communities and interest continues to grow. What can you do to help? Join us with a gift and you will receive a tax receipt.

Here are a few gift  suggestions:

One-time or annual gift Your gift will help us right now to help others
Bequest in a will or trust To ensure the future of the Heritage Legacy Fund
Life insurance policy Designate the policy’s benefits to the Heritage Legacy Fund
RRSP or Registered  Retirement Income Fund Name the Heritage Legacy Fund as a beneficiary

Giving enables each of us to support the causes we believe in. Please consider the Heritage Legacy Fund when making your plans for the future. By making a donation or a bequest, you will leave a legacy for generations to come. Regardless of the size of the gift, all of us in BC’s heritage conservation community can make a difference. The Heritage Legacy Fund Endowment Fund is managed by the Vancouver  Foundation which accepts donations, planned gifts, donor-advised funds and issues tax receipts on behalf of the Heritage Legacy Fund.

Visit our website to learn more:
» www.heritagelegacyfund.ca

A Journey into Time Immemorial

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 13:38:00 -0800

A website about the Xa:ytem historic site near Mission, 'A Journey into Time Immemorial', has won the Grand Prize at the UNESCO International Council of Museums awards.

Based on First Nations traditional knowledge, the website was developed by Simon Fraser University in collaboration with the Sto:lo website development committee and staff of the Xa:ytem Longhouse Interpretive Center. It is an artistic and cultural interpretation and not meant to convey precisely accurate archaeological information. Contemporary archaeologists view First Nations as partners and value oral traditions as a source of information about the past that augments the scientific approach. The website has been receiving one million hits a month since June.

The award was presented to Linnea Battel, Director of Xa:ytem and a past president of Heritage BC, and Dr. Barbara Winter of SFU at the recent International Museums (ICOM) Festival in Ottawa.
» www.sfu.museum/time

New TV Series 'Project: Restoration'

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 13:24:00 -0800

An historic B.C. church will be the subject of the first program in a new television series. Project: Restoration is about saving Canada’s heritage, one building at a time. Each episode documents the hands-on restoration of an endangered but historically significant building. But this new series, say the promoters, isn’t just about the sentimental feelings for old-fashioned architecture:

It’s about the conflict, egos, headaches and high stakes of saving a piece of  irreplaceable history from the wrecking ball, while trying to mix the right kind of plaster, match the right tone of milk paint or carve the right curve in a staircase banister. The dramatic backdrop is a primal battleground between old and new,  novelty and conservation, demolition and salvation, refuse and re-use, private interest and common memory.

Hour One of the new series is about the Church of the Holy Cross at Skatin, B.C., which was the subject of the 2005 Heritage Week poster. Completed in 1905, local First Nations craftsmen laboured for years on the finely worked wood details of this remarkable carpenter gothic style church. A National Historic Site, the church is still a place of worship today. After a flood in 2003 the building is in need of immediate conservation work. The Heritage Legacy Fund contributed $25,000 in 2006.

Kathy Summers Leaves Craigdarroch

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 13:14:00 -0800

“Why would you leave a ‘plum’ job, a stunning city, good friends, the mirage of ‘no snow’ – and go back there?” Well, our new home in my old neighbourhood is nestled on the southern side of Lake Ontario, on the border of historical Niagara on the Lake and St. Catharine’s in the middle of 150 estate wineries. It is beautiful there, with long hot summers and cooling lake breezes. Winters are usually mild.  I left there at 21 and return over 40 years later with a truckload of unforgettable life experiences.

Managing Craigdarroch over the past 12 years is a standout. Our progress is  immense: re-slating the roof; re-pointing the exterior; restoring the Drawing Room ceiling; adding original and period artifacts; restoring our historic 18’ wall and stairs; launching a bathroom and backhall restoration; purchasing three adjacent properties with an eye to developing a larger estate presence in the future; plus a myriad of projects and activities enhancing the site and our visitors’ historical experience. Next spring, we launch our grounds restoration project, returning the south lawn to the graceful pathways and green space of the Dunsmuir era and bringing back the 14’ sandstone and iron gates at the corner of Fort and Joan Crescent. I am so proud to have been part of this important work. I thank you all for the support and encouragement you continue to give to all things heritage. Look us up the next time you are in our corner of the world."

KATHY SUMMERS IS THE FORMER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF CRAIGDARROCH CASTLE, VICTORIA
THE NEW DIRECTOR IS COLLEEN WILLIAMS

Sue Morhun

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 13:09:00 -0800

After more than 25 years of labouring in the heritage vineyard, Sue Morhun has retired. Sue’s career was exceptional in that it successfully straddled the heritage and museum worlds. In her most recent position, as Manager of Community and Heritage Services for the Township of Langley, she served as both museum director and heritage planner. Sue held a number of other professional posts and served on numerous boards including the BC Museums Association, the BC Heritage Trust, Tourism BC, The Land Conservancy, and the Barkerville Heritage Trust. Sue has also been a regular trainer in Heritage BC’s workshop program, trekking to all corners of the province to spread the wisdom of her years of experience and impart her special brand of energy and enthusiasm. In 2004 Sue was the recipient of the B.C. Heritage Award. Sue has packed up and moved to sunny Oliver, but she promises to remain active in heritage, as a consultant and no doubt a volunteer.

Heritage Properties: The Devolution Solution

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 16:08:00 -0800

For the past six years, the provincial government has struggled to implement the 2002 decision to devolve the Heritage Properties. The operation and conservation of the dozen or so historic sites, from single houses to entire townsites, has been contracted to independent managers. Devolution has been a rough road, and absorbed a lot of time and money from the Heritage Branch’s limited resources.

Looking for a way to achieve a lasting solution to the devolution conundrum, the Branch last year commissioned Commonwealth Historic Resource Management Limited to make a comprehensive survey of the situation and come up with answers to a couple of questions: What will it take to put the Properties on a permanently sustainable footing? What would it cost to shut them down?

Commonwealth looked at the remaining 10 operating sites (ownership of a couple has been transferred out of government). While the study concluded that some sites have faired better than others under devolution, the bottom line is that all sites are failing to generate sufficient revenues to meet their contractual obligations:

“As a consequence, the integrity of the historic resources is being placed at risk by insufficient investment and maintenance. Site operations are considered to unsustainable. Without meaningful change, many of the properties – which are so important to the heritage of British Columbia and the economies of their communities – are destined for closure and failure.”

(Provincial Heritage Properties Sustainability Study)

What is the solution? The report says that the province must increase its investment. This includes a one-time “catch-up” investment of $3.8 million for deferred maintenance and conservation, plus a further $6.5 million for new water and sewer systems at Barkerville and Fort Steele, for a total $10.3 million immediate infusion. Secondly, the province needs to increase its annual operating subsidy from the present $1.8 million to $4.9 million (or $4.5 million without Cole Island near Victoria, which is not open to the public or under a management agreement).

There are other considerations, such as improving operating revenues, but this is the bottom line: there has to be significantly more investment from the provincial government if the Heritage Properties are to be put on a sustainable footing. By way of comparison, the study considered the alternative of “mothballing” the sites: shutting them up and keeping them for a later day. The one-time costs for this option are estimated at $3.6 million, and the annual maintenance costs at $3.9 million. This of course does not consider the regional economic impact of closing these popular tourism attractions, or the inevitable political fallout.

It is now up to the provincial government to decide what to do. Heritage BC wrote to the Treasury Board and Premier Campbell in September urging them to  support new funding as the only means to ensure that our heritage tourism attractions stay open and our irreplaceable heritage is preserved. It would also be gratifying to finally move on to other pressing heritage issues.

POSTED BY: RICK GOODACRE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Heritage BC Replies: A National Trust

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 15:47:00 -0800

With the fall election behind us and a second Conservative mandate underway, we still have no clear indication what to expect for heritage from Ottawa under this government. The only new heritage initiative from the Conservatives in their first term was the surprise announcement in the 2007 budget that a National Trust would be created. Based on the British model, the Minister of Finance said, it will be independent of government and “protect lands, buildings and national treasurers…(and) receive donations and contributions to ensure its long-term sustainability.” The budget provided $5 million over two years to establish this new entity.

Not much more has happened in the year and a half since. A preliminary roundtable was held in Ottawa early in 2008. Then this past summer, Langley MP Mark Warawa, Parliamentary Secretary for then-environment minister John Baird, invited several agencies to respond to the National Trust proposition. Heritage BC submitted a brief in September.

Heritage BC has some serious reservations about the national trust proposal. Firstly, Canada already has a national trust, the Heritage Canada Foundation. Heritage Canada was set up by the federal government 35 years ago, with a substantial endowment, for very similar purposes (the word “trust” was deleted from the name because of a conflict with a private financial institution). There would seem to be little purpose in setting up a duplicate, competing institution.

Secondly, Heritage BC is very concerned that a national trust dedicated to the acquisition of historic sites, as the reference to the British model implies, will absorb a good deal of available resources but have little significant impact. There are tens of thousands of recognized heritage resources in Canada, but only a handful of these could be purchased and protected. An acquisition program would do little or nothing for the rest.

Experience with site acquisition programs is generally negative. Heritage Canada has already been down this road, and quickly learned that property ownership is costly and not a very practical approach to heritage conservation. An even more dramatic example can be seen here in B.C. where the provincial government has for the past six years been embroiled in the devolution of its Heritage Properties (see related story this issue). Even the British National Trust had $345 million worth of deferred maintenance just three years ago.

While a very few historic places may warrant being set aside to ensure their survival and accessibility to the public, in the vast majority of cases heritage buildings and sites must go on serving a useful purpose to justify the continued investment that keeps them going. Like people, buildings have to work for a living.

Heritage BC’s proposal is that a national trust should serve an umbrella function for the many existing provincial, territorial and regional programs. What we need from the federal government is real help with the front-line efforts to save heritage resources that are going on every day at the local level across the country. A national trust that does not address this reality won’t do much for heritage conservation in Canada.

POSTED BY: RICK GOODACRE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

John Ruskin and the Golden Stain of Time

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 11:00:00 -0800

Poet, artist, art and architectural critic, social reformer, socialist and Oxford don, John Ruskin (1819 to 1900) was one of those boundless Victorian Renaissance men with a stunning output of work. He is considered by many to have been the most influential writer on the development of Victorian architecture, certainly within the English-speaking world. Part of his writings include his theories of architectural conservation, which have helped shape the course of modern heritage conservation and are still reflected in Canada’s Standards and Guidelines for the Conservation of Historic Places.

" Do not let us talk then of restoration. The thing is a Lie from beginning to end… We have no rightwhatever to touch them (historic buildings). They are not ours. They belong partly to those who built them, and partly to all the generations of mankind who are to follow us. The dead have still their right in them…"

JOHN RUSKIN: 'THE LAMP OF MEMORY' THE SEVEN LAMPS OF ARCHITECTURE

For Ruskin, the greatest value in ancient buildings lies in their age, with the primary character-defining element, in today’s parlance, as its patina – those natural signs of aging and incremental accretions which root historic places in time and give them a sense of time and place. Ruskin described this character by the wonderful phrase, “the golden stain of time.”

One of the reasons Ruskin loathed restoration is because it destroyed the very value he saw as important – age. Restoration does a great job in making brand-new old buildings. Instead of historic places functioning as time-anchors in communities, layered with the different ages bequeathed by continuous evolutionary uses and patterns, the majority of restorations render the past as spanking new examples of architectural styles as if they were built yesterday. It’s one of the problems when values are narrowly defined and a radical form of conservation is chosen to preference architectural-style-guide-purity as the primary aesthetic value.

Some time ago my good friend, Richard Collier, and I were musing about the heritage values and character-defining elements of Hatley Park, the former home of James Dunsmuir, and now the centre piece of Royal Roads University. It occurred to us that the fact that it was a Tudor Revival style building, that it had been designed by one of British Columbia’s premier architects of the day, Samuel Maclure, and that it was built for one of the richest and most powerful men in the province at that time, were secondary considerations. What struck us most was that the day it was finished, it was supposed to look 400 years old, within the Ruskinian aesthetic tradition.

When Hatley Park was being built, Otto Wagner and Adolph Loos were designing modern buildings in Vienna, the Chicago School had created the skyscraper and Frank Lloyd Wright was designing his prairie houses for Oak Park, Illinois. More than simply a style of architecture, Hatley Park is a reactionary essay in pre-World War I Edwardian conservatism where the past and its traditions mattered more than the evolving modern world, all of which were to be shattered on the Western Front. So how should we conserve such a heritage? Quite simply, architectural restoration would do it great harm, while careful conservation of a hundred years of patina, the golden stain of Hatley Park’s times, would speak to what this place was intended to be from the start – old. Perhaps it is a lesson we should all heed when we try to decide what values are important and how best to steward them.

POSTED BY ALASTAIR KER, BC HERITAGE BRANCH
A CONTINUING SERIES ON THE NEW HERITAGE CONSERVATION AND VALUES-BASED HERITAGE CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT

FOR PREVIOUS COLUMNS – DOWNLOAD RECENT QUARTERLY PDFS
» HBC Quarterly

Pam Copley Joins the Heritage Branch

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 16:32:00 -0700

Pam Copley has joined the provincial Heritage Branch as a Regional Heritage Planner. After four years working in employment programs and policy with the Ministry of Employment and Income Assistance, now Housing and Social Development, Pam is delighted to be returning to a field she is passionate about and looks forward to re-connecting with former colleagues and building new networks. In addition to her training in heritage conservation and museum studies through UVic’s Cultural Resource Management Program, she brings to the position a broad range of experience as a heritage consultant, knowledge of local government practices and processes as a first-term municipal councillor, and an understanding of diverse perspectives from years of volunteering in community heritage in various capacities.

In her spare time, Pam enjoys world travel, community work and spending time with her husband and three children. She is a fan of all things Russian, and as President of the Victoria-Khabarovsk Association promotes relations and activities with Khabarovsk, Victoria’s sister city in the Russian Far East. If anyone is interested in what the VKA does or is looking for new experiences, she is always looking for willing recruits!

Tiffany Giles Joins Heritage Tourism Alliance

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 16:24:00 -0700

In June 2008, the Heritage Tourism Alliance of British Columbia appointed Tiffany Gyles as their Heritage Tourism Liaison. The Alliance consists of major players in B.C.’s heritage sector including Heritage BC and the BC Museums Association, working with Tourism BC and the Heritage Branch to implement a provincial heritage tourism marketing strategy. In her new role, Tiffany will act as the lead conduit between industry and government for the purpose of increasing tourism visitation to locations and facilities that feature B.C.’s history and heritage.

A long-time resident of Victoria, Tiffany’s career in the tourism industry started over 12 years ago, when she worked as a seasonal performer at the famous Butchart Gardens. Since then, she has held positions in event planning and hospitality sales at some of Victoria’s most renowned tourism attractions including The Fairmont Empress. Most recently, Tiffany was the Manager of Meeting & Incentive Travel at Tourism Victoria where she was responsible for promoting and selling Victoria and Vancouver Island as a meeting and incentive travel destination to the US market. Tiffany holds a B.A. in History from the University of Victoria and is delighted to continue working in close collaboration with key tourism partners on ensuring an integrated approach to promoting British Columbia’s incredibly diverse heritage experiences.

Heritage BC

Heritage Grants To Continue

PHOTO: VERNON SCHOOL OF MUSIC

Petition Calls For Return of Gaming Grants

Victoria Must Pay For Designation

HBC Meets with the Heritage Minister

Approved Designation Status

Photo: www.waterscapesproject.ca

Lighthouse Bill Comes into Effect

Photo: Amphitrite Point LIghthouse

BC Parks 100

Photo: Bowron Lake (TOURISM BC/CHRIS HARRIS)

Government of BC Proclaims Heritage Week

Heritage Legacy Fund Supports Heritage BC

Pam Madoff Leaves Heritage Canada Board

Cuts Hit Heritage Organizations

Time Travel BC

NEW HERITAGE TOURISM WEBSITE LAUNCHED :

Victoria Business Seeks Compensation

Exemption Extended to Register Properties

ENERGY EFFICIENCY ACT

Hal Kalman Receives Leger Award

Take a Virtual History Tour

Municipalities Seek Heritage Exemption

Exempting Heritage Property from HPA

RICK GOODACRE, HERITAGE BC MARCH 4, 2009

Heritage Vancouver Receives $10,000

PHOTO: DON LUXTON ACCEPTS THE 2009 BRITISH COLUMBIA HERITAGE AWARD FROM HERITAGE BRANCH DIRECTOR, PATRICK FREY, AT THE ANNUAL HERITAGE BC AWARDS IN KELOWNA ON JUNE 5

Larry Foster Elected President

BC Energy Efficiency Act

New Regulations for Windows and Doors

HLF Votes to Maintain Grants

PHOTO: ST. MICHAELS ALL ANGELS (R.Goodacre)

Cole Island in Esquimalt Harbour

PHOTO: CHRISTINA MARSHALL

Heritage Properties

Big Investment in Heritage Properties

PHOTO : BARKERVILLE (Thomas Drasdauskis)

Eric Pattison

Anna Cail 1911-2009

New Building Conservation Training Program

PHOTO: COTTONWOOD HOUSE

Funding Program Reaches $1 Million

Keith Henry to speak on Aboriginal Tourism

Murry Kraus to Give Keynote Address

Reno, Restoration...or Rationalization

BY NICK RUSSELL: A REPLY TO 'RESTORATION VERSUS REHABILITATION':

“Restoration includes the removal of features from other periods in its history and the reconstruction of missing features from the restoration period. Restoration must be based on clear evidence and detailed knowledge of the earlier forms and materials being recovered.”

BY NICK RUSSELL, PRESIDENT, HALLMARK SOCIETY, VICTORIA

PHOTO CAPTION: Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, 2008. The medieval ruins have Tudor and Georgian modifications: it would make no sense to remove them and restore the abbey.

Restoration versus Rehabilitation

Restoration: Both the word and the thing are modern. To restore an edifice means neither to maintain it, nor to repair it, nor to rebuild it; it means to reestablish it in a finished state, which may in fact have never existed at any given time.

Eugene-Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc

POSTED BY ALASTAIR KERR, BC HERITAGE BRANCHA CONTINUING SERIES ON THE NEW HERITAGE CONSERVATION AND VALUES-BASED HERITAGE CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT

Jennifer Barr

Don Luxton: B.C. Heritage Award 2009

Victoria Protects Heritage Shop Interior

PHOTO: ROGERS' CHOCOLATES

Fire at Craigflower Manor

Green Rehabilitation and Sustainability Forums

50 Heritage Projects Funded

Welcome to the new website

New Heritage BC Website

Pat Carney Receives Governors' Award

New Funding Program

Applications are being received until funds are utilized, up to February 16, 2009. Projects must be complete by March 31.

Photo: The Honourable Bill Bennett and Ida Chong, Minister of Technology, Trade and Economic Development, announce the new heritage funding program

(Heritage BC)

Principles of Heritage Tourism

FROM PRINCIPLES TO GUIDE HERITAGE TOURISM, ICOMOS

An Economic Generator

BY JENNIFER IREDALE, SENIOR CURATOR, HERITAGE BRANCH, MINISTRY OF TOURISM, SPORT AND THE ARTSHBC QUARTERLY FALL 2007

Ridgeway School, North Vancouver

Butterworth Cottage, Government House, Victoria

FROM HBC QUARTERLY FALL 2008

Henderson House, Powell River

BY ROSEMARY BJORKNAS : HBC QUARTERLY SUMMER 2008

Revelstoke School

(Revelstoke History and Heritage, by Ruby M. Nobbs)

BY JOANN PEACHLEY, ASSISTANT PLANNER, CITY OF REVELSTOKE

POSTED BY ALASTAIR KERR, BC HERITAGE BRANCH
A CONTINUING SERIES ON THE NEW HERITAGE CONSERVATION AND
VALUES-BASED HERITAGE CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT

BY JENNIFER IREDALE, SENIOR CURATOR, HERITAGE BRANCH, MINISTRY OF TOURISM, SPORT AND THE ARTS
HBC QUARTERLY FALL 2007

BY RICHARD LINZEY, BC HERITAGE BRANCH
READ THE FULL ARTICLE UNDER RESOURCES: GUIDES & TIPS
» Upgrading Heritage Homes

BY JENNIFER IREDALE, BC HERITAGE BRANCH
READ THE FULL ARTICLE UNDER RESOURCES: GUIDES & TIPS
» Upgrading Window in Heritage Buildings

BY JENNIFER IREDALE, BC HERITAGE BRANCH
FROM HBC QUARTERLY WINTER 2008

POSTED BY: RICK GOODACRE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, HERITAGE BC
FROM AN ARTICLE IN HBC QUARTERLY FALL 2007

KATHY SUMMERS IS THE FORMER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF CRAIGDARROCH CASTLE, VICTORIA
THE NEW DIRECTOR IS COLLEEN WILLIAMS