On May 16, 2013, the Heritage Canada Foundation launched the Cornerstone Awards for Building Heritage to recognize excellence in the regeneration of heritage buildings and sites in Canada. HCF is seeking entries no later than July 5, 2013 in the following categories:

1. Adaptive Use/Rehabilitation: projects that demonstrate sensitivity and creativity in preserving the heritage values of a site while making possible a continuing or compatible contemporary use.

2. Infill: projects that integrate new construction in a historic context in a way that reinforces the character of the streetscape, enhances heritage values and contributes to the revitalization of the complex or district.

Eligible projects must have been completed between 2000 and 2013. For more information on eligibility and decision criteria, see:

» Heritage Canada Foundation Cornerstone Awards

Provincial Election: Business As Usual? 

The provincial election is over and the Liberals have scored a stunning upset victory. What does this mean for the future? For heritage at least, we have considerable experience to draw from to speculate. The Liberal government of the past dozen years has completely redrawn the heritage map in B.C. After an extended period of turmoil, things have recently settled down. A new funding formula is in place that gives managers some certainty about the future. Then just three months ago, the province launched its new Heritage Strategy and signed a new deal with Heritage BC, which includes the management of the Heritage Legacy Fund. 

The provincial election came on the heels of these important developments, and raised the possibility of another major upheaval and change in direction. Now, the surprising election results suggest business as usual is much more likely than a major change in direction. Over the next few months, as ministries are organized, cabinet posts assigned, and the provincial heritage program is imbedded in a new ministry, a better sense of the lay of the land will emerge. Whatever that looks like, it is now much more likely to resemble the pre-election landscape than would have been the case with a change of government.

DEADLINE EXTENDED! Now you've got more time to nominate and recognize achievement by individuals, associations, businesses, and governments in the field of heritage conservation.

Though the Annual Conference now takes place in the fall, the Heritage BC Awards Nomination deadline is now extended to April 1st. Categories are  Heritage Conservation;  Advocacy, Awareness and Planning; and the Ruby Nobbs Achievement Award. 

Click here for more about award catagories and how to use the online form to submit photos and nominations for a deserving project or individual:
» Awards

The Government of BC is providing $500,000 to Heritage BC to support community heritage programs and help implement a new provincial heritage strategy, Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations, Steve Thomson, announced in Kelowna on Friday, February 15, 2013.

The Heritage Strategy for British Columbia: Our Heritage, Historic Places, also released on Friday by Thomson, outlines the Province’s future plans to ensure B.C.’s historic places remain an active and dynamic part of B.C. communities.

Through the strategy, the Province is providing Heritage BC $500,000 to transform its business model. The funding will help strengthen the organization’s ability to deliver heritage planning and training services to communities and provide other heritage conservation services to support the preservation of historic places.

The funding decision is a direct outcome of the Heritage BC Business Case developed last fall with $50,000 in funding from Mr. Thomson’s ministry.

The Minister has also agreed to make Heritage BC the Donor Advisor of the Heritage Legacy Fund, a function which has been handled until now by the Heritage Legacy Fund of BC Society. This means that Heritage BC will administer the annual revenue from the Heritage Legacy Fund endowment which currently stands at $5.5 million. Since 2005, the Heritage Legacy Fund has provided $1.7 million in grants to over 100 community heritage conservation projects.

Read more here:

» www.for.gov.bc.ca/heritage/whats_new.htm

View the strategy document here:

« www.for.gov.bc.ca/ftp/heritage/external/!publish/web/Heritage_Historic_Places2013_final.pdf

PHOTO CAPTION: Larry Foster, Past President, Heritage BC,  Minister Thomson, Janice Henry, Director, Heritage BC (seated), Pat McAllister, Past President, Heritage BC (seated), Eric Pattison, President, Heritage BC, Minister Letnick

TimeTravel BC is hosting a Family Heritage Photo Contest on Facebook to celebrate BC Family Day and Heritage Week 2013. They are calling on museums, attractions and cultural/heritage organizations across the province to participate and spread the word.

Everyone is also being encouraged to spread the word and help promote the Photo Contest to their visitors. Photos of family and friends who 'capture a moment in time' at a heritage site in BC, are eligible to win a set of family passes to BC Heritage Properties and the photo with the most Votes will win an iPad Mini. The photo with the most VOTES wins an iPad Mini.

Museums and heritage organizations will be also be eligible for a draw to win an iPad Mini when they 'Like' TimeTravel BC on facebook and share their photos from events they are holding.

Minister Steve Thomson, Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations, said, "B.C.'s heritage sites and historic places contrbute significantly to our unique identity as British Columbians. This photo contest is an engaging way for families to experience and showcase B.C.'s rich history."

The contest opens Saturday February 9 in time for BC Family Day, and runs until the end of Heritage Week on February 24, 2013.

ENTER FAMILY PHOTOS HERE!
» Family Heritage Photo Contest

‘LIKE’ TimeTravel BC on Facebook! The feeling is mutual...we’ll reciprocate!
» www.facebook.com/TimeTravelBC

Click here for some promo materials

» TTBC Venues Join The Fun flyer.pdf

» TTBC Photo Contest Poster.pdf

Find more details and promo ideas here:

» www.timetravelbc.com

Or contact Heritage Tourism Alliance
info@timetravelbc.com

Heritage BC welcomed Ranjit Gill and Janice Henry to the board of directors at the Annual General Meeting in Burnaby on October 19. Ranjit is the executive director of the Central BC Railway and Forest Museum, and a member of the Prince George Community Heritage Commission. Janice is from Kelowna where she has been the executive director of the Central Okanagan Heritage Society for several years, and has a strong background in community fund raising.

The new board reappointed President Eric Pattison of New Westminster, and Vice President Helen Cain and Secretary-Treasurer Bjorn Simonsen of Victoria. Past President Larry Foster of Kelowna resigned his board post, so this executive spot is vacant at present.

Other directors who continue with the nine-member board are Zlatan Jankovic of Vancouver, Shirley Gratton of Prince George, Don Luxton of Vancouver, and Helen Edwards, the BC Governor for the Heritage Canada Foundation, of Victoria.

LIGHTHOUSE PROTECTION ACT: After the federal Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act was passed in 2010, Canadians had two years to nominate lighthouses for protection. A year ago, Heritage BC Quarterly reported that, halfway through the process, things were going pretty slowly. Only 56 out of many hundreds of lighthouses across Canada had been nominated, and of these only three were in B.C.

Fortunately, the pace picked up considerably in Year Two. By the deadline of May 29, 2012, 348 lighthouses had been nominated nationally, with 41 in B.C. All nominations are listed on the Parks Canada website.

The next step is consideration of all nominations by the federal Minister of the Environment, assisted by the Historic Sites and Monuments Board. Decisions must be made within three years, by May 29, 2015. Lighthouses designated under the Act will be subject to protection and standards for conservation. The fly in the ointment, however, is the requirement that nominators must also come up with a business plan in the case of lighthouses that have been declared surplus by the custodial department, Fisheries and Oceans Canada. To receive designation, a viable business plan must be received and accepted within the three-year window. A lot of nominators will presumably be sharpening their pencils in the months to come.

In a letter to Prime Minister Harper, the CAA states that after the cuts there will be only 12 archaeologists and eight conservators left to support 218 national parks, historic sites and marine conservation areas. Interpretation staff will also be severely reduced. Collections of artifacts are being boxed up and sent from Calgary, Winnipeg, Cornwall, Quebec City and Halifax to a central storage facility in Ottawa.
Heritage BC wrote to Mr. Kent in June to express our concerns about the budget cuts and the continuing decline in support for heritage conservation by the federal government.

HERITAGE BC: The provincial government has commissioned Earthvoice Strategies Inc. to develop a business case for Heritage BC. The project involves identifying, evaluating and making recommendations on business and/or operational models that will establish a sustainable and increasingly self-sufficient organization and reaffirm Heritage BC’s role within the heritage sector.

The project is divided into two phases, with the first being completed by mid September. The ministry and Heritage BC will then determine whether the study proceeds to
Phase II.

Funding for 14 community heritage projects was approved by the Heritage Legacy Fund board on Friday, April 20, 2012.  Ten of the approved grants will go toward conservation work on historic buildings, and four will support historic interpretation through signage. 

The maximum grant is $25,000 and two projects, both in Vancouver, received this amount. The Green Thumb Players Society is heading up a creative project to rejuvenate Carleton School as a theatre performance venue. Carleton School Number One is the city’s oldest surviving school, but has been at risk every since a disastrous fire a few years ago. The funds will go toward repairs of the school roof, siding, windows and doors. 

The Japanese Language School and Hall in Vancouver’s East End is engaged in an ambitious project to rehabilitate their 1928 building as a day care facility and interpretation centre. Several years ago the JLSH entered into a covenant with the City of Vancouver to restore the street facade, and the Heritage Legacy Fund $25,000 grant will go toward that objective.

Other grants went to a wide range of projects, from a designated log chapel in Duncan to a community hall on Denman Island and Bevoulin Historic Church in Kelowna.  Many grant applications continue to be for basic maintenance and repair that has been deferred for lack of funds, and many projects would not proceed without essential Heritage Legacy Fund assistance.

CONSERVATION GRANTS
Foundation repair of the Denman Island Community Hall

New roof for the Cathedral Church of St. Michael & All Angels, Kelowna

Roof replacement for Benvoulin Heritage Church, Kelowna

Exterior restoration of Queen Margaret’s School Chapel, Duncan

Exterior repairs and roof replacement, Carleton School House, Vancouver

Roof replacement of First Metropolitan United Church, Victoria

Façade restoration of the Japanese Language School building, Vancouver

Roof replacement of Newman Farm, Central Saanich

Re-roofing of Zion United Church, Armstrong

Re-roofing of St. Andrews United Church, Nanaimo

HERITAGE AWARENESS GRANTS: OUTDOOR SIGNAGE
Kamloops
Smithers
Wosk on Vancouver Island
Regional District of Kitimat-Stikine

Previous articles about Carelton School
» NEWS: Success Stories

More about Heritage Legacy Fund
» Heritage Legacy Fund

HBC STRATEGIC PLAN:

On Monday, April 23, 2012, Heritage BC sat down with Steve Thomson, Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations, who is responsible for the heritage file. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the recently-completed HBC Strategic Plan which Mr. Thomson had generously assisted last fall with a $35,000 project grant. The plan envisions a more independent organization and a new relationship with the provincial government, as a partner rather than a client. It also seeks a further provincial contribution to the Heritage Legacy Fund to create permanent baseline operating revenue for HBC.

The conversation with Mr. Thomson was pragmatic and positive. The Minister is looking for more detail, a fully-developed business case that he can take to Treasury Board to bolster the proposal for government investment in the new vision. The meeting concluded with an agreement that the ministry will provide further funding to bring in some professional help to take the strategic plan through the final stages.  Heritage BC will move quickly to complete the business case over the next few months since time is of the essence.

Click here to download a pdf of the Strategic Plan
» Heritage BC Strategic Plan 2012

Last week Heritage BC put the finishing touches on a new strategic plan to guide the organization through the next three years. Completed with funding support from the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations, the plan spells out a new relationship with the provincial government. 

Moving forward, Heritage BC will be a more mature and independent organization, with a strong emphasis on self-sufficiency, more a partner with than a client of the provincial government. Heritage BC, however, still needs up-front support from the province to establish a new, permanent basis of operations, and has requested a meeting with heritage minister, Steve Thomson, to discuss the options.

» Heritage BC Strategic Plan PDF

For years, Heritage BC has been urging the provincial government to come to a sustainable resolution of the Heritage Properties funding question which has overshadowed all other heritage issues and priorities. With this latest funding, the provincial government has now committed over $50 million to the Properties since devolution began in 2002, while all other heritage spending has dwindled to almost nothing. It is to be hoped that this is not just another stop-gap investment but the beginning of a long-term plan for the Properties.

READ MORE!
The cover story of the HBC Spring 2012 Quarterly examines the history of devolution and the prospects for the future.

» HBC Q19 SPRING 2012 PDF

» Read more about the Heritage Lighthouse Report

» www.pc.gc.ca

Applications are being accepted during a special intake period from January 16 to February 13, 2012.

» Community Gaming Grants

» Read more about "A Call to Renew"

Below is the wording for the full UBCM resolution:

B69 RETURN TO HERITAGE FUNDING

WHEREAS heritage generally throughout Canada is suffering due to the economic downturn, the loss of provincial government support in 2008 with the withdrawal of provincial funding for the Heritage Branch (Ministry of Tourism, Trade and Investment), Heritage BC, as well as community-based organizations throughout the province, means that community heritage resources are at risk for deterioration and loss;

AND WHEREAS heritage is an important asset for economic development in British Columbia as a draw for cultural tourism, one of the fastest growing segments of the tourism industry and the loss of heritage resources and the opportunity for people to experience the unique identity of communities in BC could further negatively impact on the local and provincial economy:

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the provincial government adopt Heritage BC’s “Call to Renew British Columbia’s Heritage” initiative by:

• Adopting the Provincial Heritage Strategy, completed in 2009 but never implemented;
• Restoring the budget for the Heritage Branch, Ministry of Tourism, Trade and Investment;
• Resolving the heritage properties question, which includes issues related to provincially-owned heritage properties;
• Restoring community support through governmental initiatives including programming and gaming funds;
• Reinvesting in the Heritage Legacy Fund in order to support long-range heritage conservation work throughout the province.

ENDORSED BY THE SOUTHERN INTERIOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT ASSOCIATION
UBCM RESOLUTIONS COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION: Endorse

The new strategic plan will be completed by March 31, 2012.

Register now! Find out more about the Heritage BC Annual Conference.

» Annual Conference

So far, 56 lighthouses have been nominated, but only three from B.C.:  Point Atkinson, Sisters Islets and Sheringham Point.

Heritage BC and the provincial Heritage Branch have provided the federal Heritage Lighthouse Program with a list of community organizations and local governments that may have an interest in the 35 B.C. lighthouses identified by Parks Canada as having nomination potential.  Parks Canada is writing to these organizations and governments to inform them about the nominations process, and to discover if there is an interest in participating in information sessions.  Some sessions have already been held in the Maritimes and more may be scheduled on the west coast in September, if the level of interest warrants.

Read the letter from National Historic Sites
» PDF

For more information, contact Rick Goodacre
rgoodacre@heritagebc.ca

Heritage Lighthouse Program
(819) 934-9096
www.parkscanada.gc.ca

Find previous articles on the Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act
» NEWS: National Scene

Heritage BC is 30-something. The heady days of youth are over.  Heritage BC turned 30 in April 
and is now entering it’s fourth decade.  Thirty is a major milestone for 
everyone.  It is a time to reflect on what you have achieved so far, and where you are going.  Some goals have been reached.  A few dreams 
have been dashed. 

In the Spring 2011 issue of Heritage BC Quarterly, we pause to take stock of the heritage conservation movement in B.C. While over the past couple of years it may seem like heritage has been under siege, there are still many things to take pride in and feel good about.  
Restoration projects go ahead, often against the odds.  Communities still support their historic places and invest in them.  People still care.

But there are many serious issues as well. With so many competing voices seeking attention, support and resources, what will become of heritage conservation in the next 30 years?  Or even the next five? 

Whatever the answers to these questions, we can still reflect on what has been accomplished, and recognize the effort and energy that has brought us this far.  Maybe acknowledge a modest round of applause... even if we have to do the clapping ourselves.

Three Decades of Heritage Conservation

Although not incorporated under the Society Act until April 21, 1981, Heritage BC (aka Dogwood Heritage Society of British Columbia), emerged out of the heady days of the 1970s when so many things, heritage-wise, had their beginnings.

The Heritage Canada Foundation was created by federal charter in 1973.  One of the first initiatives of the HCF was to establish a series of regional councils, and one was soon set up in B.C. and the Yukon.  The new council got busy right away, spurred on by a membership drawn from the leaders of the nascent B.C. heritage movement. 

Things moved ahead quickly.  The provincial Heritage Conservation Act was passed in 1977, creating for the first time municipal heritage powers to designate heritage property and establish a heritage advisory committee.  The following year, the British Columbia Heritage Trust was launched, a major funding engine that was soon supporting literally hundreds of projects around the province.

By 1980, it was clear that B.C. needed its own heritage society, and the regional council got to work on a constitution and bylaws.  The next year, the Heritage Society of B.C. was created.  A continuing relationship with the HCF was confirmed by the inclusion of the Heritage Canada Governor for British Columbia on the Heritage BC board.  For several years there was a joint membership relationship as well.

In the early years, many of the basic programs that have continued to the present day were established.  The annual conference had actually been a reality for a few years prior to incorporation.  An awards program, recognizing all of the new and exciting activity, was also a must. The society began to publish a newsletter,
‘Heritage West’, which quickly gained popularity as the best source of heritage news.

An important relationship between Heritage BC and the provincial government also emerged in these early years.  The province of course played a critical funding role, but there was also a great deal of cooperation, working together toward clearly understood and shared goals.

With some funding, the society could support at least part-time staff.  But in 1989, the B.C. Heritage Trust made a commitment to an annual operating grant, and Heritage BC was able to hire a full time executive director the following year. 

After the first exciting and energetic decade, things took a turn for the worse as we entered the 1990’s.  There were still a number of important accomplishments, provincially, including the Heritage Conservation Statutes Amendment Act of 1994.  Many community programs continued to grow and mature, some the equal of any in the country.  But the last 20 years have been a more austere period, culminating in the very disappointing downturn of the past couple of years.

However, Heritage BC and heritage conservation march on.  It has been a good beginning, but there is much more work to do.  Heritage BC continues to evolve and improve.  We are very pleased to have established the Heritage Legacy Fund in 2003.  We look forward to growing the fund, and offering more and better services to the heritage community, and British Columbia. There is much to look forward to.

— RICK GOODACRE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

PHOTO: First HBC Board 1981
(from left) Nancy Oliver, Ron Sutherland, Liz O’Kiely, Christine Straiton (now Wiebe), Russ Irvine (Heritage Conservation Branch), Mary Liz Bayer, Eilizabeth Low, Martin Segger (Heritage Canada Governor)

There is no doubt about it, I have had a wonderful career in heritage conservation spanning some thirty-eight years and with my teaching at the Universities of Victoria and Hong Kong, it is far from over.  When I graduated from university with a Master of Arts degree in History in Art in 1973, I vaguely thought that I would like to work in a museum or art gallery.  Then, as today, there weren’t many openings.  Instead, I found a job recording the interiors of historic buildings in what was called Phase II of the Canadian Inventory of Historic Building (CIHB).  It was my proverbial toe in the door.

Although the CIHB was a Federal Government program, I was hired by the Province of BC in the Historic Parks and Sites Division of BC Provincial Parks as part of a federal/provincial collaboration in heritage conservation. In those days heritage conservation was still in its childhood in Canada.  BC’s flirtation with the CIHB was short lived and soon I was undertaking research and planning reports on historic parks and sites.

 My first manager was a wonderful curmudgeon by the name of Bob Broadland.  Bob never accepted anything at face value and loved to play the devil’s advocate.  To us newly minted professionals in a hurry, he had a dreadfully antiquated view of heritage and a folksy approach to history, so typical of his generation, which had seen British Columbia’s heritage awareness grow through a succession of centennial events. Bob particularly liked the old-timers and the stories they had to tell.  Authenticity in restorations and accuracy in reconstructions at such places as Barkerville and Fort Steele weren’t such a big deal to Bob; what was more important was that they provided a platform to tell fascinating stories about BC’s past.

I, on the other hand, was a Baby-Boomer, an academically trained architectural historian coming of age in a post-Jane Jacobsean world. We fervently believed that the conservation of historic buildings in our cities and towns was not simply good practice, but morally the right thing to do.  And time wasn’t on our side.  We saw developers as adversaries who were destroying our communities as fast as they could.  In British Columbia the battle lines had been drawn in the 1960s and early 1970s between community advocates and Marathon Realty, the real estate arm of the CPR, which proposed to level Gastown in order to build a series of steel and glass high rises along the waterfront, known as project 200; and to raze Chinatown to build a freeway into the district. 

We all know it never happened.  The good guys won.  And for approximately the next two and a half decades our star was in the ascendency.  Gastown and Chinatown were Provincially designated to protect them from demolition; nationally the Heritage Canada Foundation was created; local governments were given the power of heritage designation; the British Columbia Heritage Trust (BCHT) was created with an annual grant budget which rose to $2.5 million; Heritage Canada created its Main Street Program and the Province of British Columbia responded with the Downtown Revitalization Program and the BCHT’s Heritage Area Revitalization Program.
The high point of these activities was the passage of the Heritage Conservation Statutes Amendment Act in 1994 which amended 22 Provincial statutes to include provisions for heritage conservation.  It gave BC the best heritage conservation legislation in Canada.  Which it still has.  But rather than issuing in an even more glorious era of heritage activity, the movement seemed to stall.  Even the very ambitious but ill-fated national Historic Places Initiative (HPI) of the last decade more or less died with what T.S. Eliot described as, “not with a bang but a whimper.”  Sure, we got the Canadian Register of Historic Places and the Standards and Guidelines for the Conservation of Historic Places in Canada, which are nice to have, but we didn’t really need them.  Heritage conservation settled down to practical, if not staid, business. 

So what happened?  Part of it is that the socio-cultural context within which heritage conservation is practiced has significantly changed. One of the biggest opponents to heritage in the 1960s and 70s was modernism. Modernism wasn’t just a style of building, but a Utopian belief system which advocated that we were progressing ever more assuredly toward a better future.  If one cares to look at the literature and events which were created for the 1958 British Columbia Centennial, the first and the grandest of BC’s centennials, they weren’t a celebration of the past, but a celebration of the future!  The past, at such places as Barkerville, were benchmarks to show how far we had come.  The big stories were BC’s public works in the form of highways and hydro-electric dams, its burgeoning industries in mining, forestry, fisheries and manufacturing, and how modern its cities and towns were becoming.  When some residents of one community complained about the smell of pulp mills, then Premier W.A.C. Bennett is reputed to have exclaimed, “It’s the smell of money!” And Project 200 was all part of this glorious vision for the future. 

In life we are shaped by the contexts in which we find ourselves and, in turn, we re-shape those contexts.  Bob Broadland’s generation was a generation of modernists and the Baby Boomer generation took this approach and reshaped it in what might be aptly called a postmodern way.  Jane Jacobs in her landmark book, The Death and Life of Great American Cities (1961), was a pioneer in showing how cities can be shaped with people from the bottom up instead of ideologically from the top down.  About the same time Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring (1962) looked at the environment systemically and introduced the concept of ecology to an international public beyond a scientific audience.  The germs which these and other writers planted are part of the legacy of the Boomers, including the rediscovery of our built past. They heralded new ways to rebuild our cities and towns with their inherent time anchors, building by building, from the ground up. 

Postmodernism in design, which really blossomed from the 1980s on, offered alternatives to astringent modern architecture with its insistence that form follows function.  Eclecticism made a re-appearance, as did decoration unrelated to structure.  Architecture became less ideological and more playful as architects searched for new appropriate forms and designs.  Much of it was far less hostile to historic buildings than modernism, particularly within the realm of contextual design, which accepted existing environments as a starting point and worked within the visual contexts of historic streetscapes and neighbourhoods.  Today, even the notion of the avant garde has become a trifle passé as it is associated with a now increasingly dated sense of modernism.

In terms of postmodern urbanism, urban revitalization sought a blending of the present and the past, recognizing that one of the strengths of real cities is the layering of its different stages of growth and development, to give it a sense of time and place which is so admired in European cities.  The New Urbanism made its entry addressing all these points in the creation of the livable city.  It was complemented by Smart Growth ideas, sustainability, green buildings and the urban requirements of the creative class, all of which are philosophically compatible with what heritage conservation is trying to do.

While these developments are good news for heritage conservation, they have also diluted the urgency heritage conservation once had.  The, us-against-them past has been greatly ameliorated. Herb Stovel, my good friend and respected colleague at Carleton University in Ottawa, talks about heritage conservation going mainstream.  Well, if it isn’t here already, it’s about as close as it’s going to get.  Sure, some heritage advocates may say we still have a long way to go and improvements can always be made, but shriller voices reflect a reality of twenty or thirty years ago, and not a reality of today. 

Recently I was re-appointed to the Board of the Victoria Civic Heritage Trust.  It is not an advocacy organization, but the City of Victoria’s arm to provide financial assistance for the rehabilitation of commercial buildings.  It’s a good organization and coming back after my six year absence from being on the board, it is business as usual.  Heritage in Victoria isn’t generally seen as a something pursued by the “hysterical society” anymore, which it certainly was when I began my career, but as just another part of the city’s fabric which must be properly managed and stewarded.  So too is the case with the hugely successful Vancouver Heritage Foundation.  Heritage has arrived.  Well, sort of. 

I say, well, sort of, because we Boomers have defined heritage principally as architecture and conservation as architectural restoration, not heritage as something much more broadly defined or conservation as an activity which offers so many alternative ways to safeguard the past. Moreover, historic architecture, for many heritage insiders, means stylistic purity according to the way a building was first built, where style is evaluated as an exercise in idealized, ahistorical connoisseurship, not according to the historical dynamics and traditions of real communities or how pluralistic, multi-party stakeholders may construct different concepts of heritage that might have more meaning for them.  
In doing so we are every bit as doctrinaire as the modernist architects who chided us for being hopelessly romantic and unrealistic.  We think nothing of stripping away layers of later acculturation and replacing them with reconstructed facsimiles of the past and calling this contemporary work “authentic.” 

Just as the public at large was quite indifferent to the virtues of modern architecture so, too, is it mostly indifferent to architectural purity in historic buildings, except that it looks pretty.  For many, a nicely reconstructed building would do just as well, thank you very much, dismissing such arcane notions as original fabric, authenticity and integrity as so many angels dancing on the head of a pin.  What we Boomers have narrowly defined as heritage doesn’t really address what the majority of people might care about, or what, if they really thought about it, gives them meaning and identity, and which they do in fact care about and value. 

In many respects I think we have forgotten or certainly under-valued other manifestations of both tangible and intangible heritage, such as community traditions, collective memories and cultural identities, where place is often simply the stage for more important socio-cultural traditions and ceremonies which are retold, re-enacted and revivified, and with each new public recollection, the past is dynamically re-connected with the present.  Because our notion of heritage doesn’t really matter to so many potential stakeholders, they disengage from what we have to say.  Heritage conservation, even simply defined as architectural restoration, has come a long way since 1973, but I do think that we are about as mainstream as our current approach is going to get us, unless we broaden what we consider as heritage and seek alternative ways of conserving it beyond just architectural restoration.

I think of Bob Broadland and his generation who saw heritage primarily as narrative with places as the location and aide-memoires where the narratives could be told.  Who is to say whether the Gen-Xers, Gen-Yers or succeeding generations will see heritage the same way as we do?  Probably historic architecture will continue to be seen as an important part of how we understand this vague but cogent idea of heritage, just as narrative is still critical to our understanding and appreciation of historic interpretation and communication, but I wonder if our current approach won’t evolve into something more flexible and more reflective of future socio-cultural situations and requirements.  One thing that I am quite sure of is that within the next thirty-eight years what we call heritage today will be re-defined by the Gen-Xers and Gen-Yers, just as we Baby Boomers redefined what we had inherited from an earlier generation.  Ultimately heritage is not about things, but about cultural values and processes which are constantly in flux and need to be continually negotiated and renegotiated. 

One of the last things I did in my career in heritage conservation with the government of BC was to serve on a joint working group to write a model agreement between a First Nation and the Province to protect the First Nation’s traditional, ceremonial and spiritual sites.  Although by the time I retired there was still a lot of work to be done, what struck me as particularly interesting is that we weren’t dealing with archaeological sites, which for the most part are a western, scientific creation, but with what falls under the category of associative cultural landscapes; natural landscapes and landforms which have profound social and cultural meanings to aboriginal people.  

These meanings go to the heart of aboriginal cosmology, often dealing with Creation stories and events which occurred in a Mythical time, but events that at any moment can be recalled into the present. Within aboriginal communities nobody has to ask if these places have value and should be protected.  It is of utmost importance that they are protected because they are about the spiritual well-being of the Nation.  They speak to identity, place, meaning, social order, and one’s very place in life.  I look at historic buildings and think they are pretty and nice to have around because I am acculturated to a very western and middle class brand of heritage conservation.  But they don’t have the same kind of immediacy or resonance that spiritual and ceremonial sites do to aboriginal peoples.  I think that a values-based heritage with such deep cultural importance is a marker pointing to the future.  We would be well served if we discovered our heritage with the same depth of meaning.  This could be a direction in which we might head.

In March, the Senate Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans released its report on the implementation of the Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act.  

The 2008 Act came into effect on May 29, 2010. Two days before, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) declared surplus several hundred light stations across the country. The significance of this move was that, under the new Act, anyone nominating a surplus lighthouse must also present a plan to take it over and care for it, permanently.  Thus, the DFO deftly sidestepped any responsibility for lighthouses that might be proclaimed heritage under the new legislation, and in so doing effectively gutted one of the central purposes of the Act.

In response, the Senate committee report recommendations include a proposal to set up a new fund for community organizations that may want to take on the care and use of a historic lighthouse. The fund, under the Senate proposal, would be administered by the Heritage Canada Foundation.

With the election now out of the way, the federal government should now address the recommendations of the Senate report.

Download the PDF here:
» Report on the Implementation of the Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act

Click here for more:
» Call to Renew

Mr. Abbott said, as Premier, he will make strategic investments to support British Columbia’s network of local heritage organizations.  Specifically, he commits to:

• Tripling the Heritage Legacy Fund endowment to $15 million within the next three years to support more grants to local heritage pursuits as well as provide stable funding for Heritage BC; and

• Engaging the heritage community to establish a strategy to ensure the ongoing integrity and sustainability of devolved Provincial Heritage Properties across the province, including sites such as Fort Steele, Barkerville, and Emily Carr House.

Abbott previously announced his intention to restore community gaming grants and eligibility to 2008/09 levels. Together, these measures respond directly to the five action items identified in Heritage BC’s campaign, 'A Call to Renew British Columbia’s Heritage Program'.

Heritage BC will be asking the other Liberal leadership hopefuls if they are prepared to make a similar commitment.

Mr. Abbott’s news release can be seen on his leadership campaign website.

For more about 'A Call to Renew':

» A Call to Renew

MEDIA RELEASE : HERITAGE WEEK FEBRUARY 21-27 2011  

“A Century of Conservation:  Parks and Cultural Landscapes” has been chosen as the theme for Heritage Week 2011 in recognition of the centennial of both BC Parks and Parks Canada this year.  Heritage Week begins on National Heritage Day, the third Monday in February.

Created in 1911, Canada’s Dominion Parks Service was the first such national organization in the world.  The same year, the Government of British Columbia passed legislation to create Strathcona Park on Vancouver Island, the beginning of our provincial parks system.

Today, there are hundreds of provincial parks throughout B.C.  Our national parks, and National Historic Sites which are part of the same system, protect and celebrate priceless natural treasures and some of our most historic places.

“It is easy to take our parks for granted”, says Larry Foster, President of Heritage BC.  “But these park systems would never have come into being without a strong conservation ethic.  The natural wonders and historic sites that have been protected over the past 100 years are open to all British Columbians, in perpetuity.  They also attract thousands of visitors to our province, making a significant contribution to our vital tourism industry.”

Heritage BC is a provincial, non-profit association with 165 member groups throughout British Columbia.  We encourage our members, other heritage organizations, local governments, businesses and schools to get involved and celebrate Heritage Week in their communities.

Read more!
» Heritage Week

More information: 
Rick Goodacre
Executive Director,
rgoodacre@heritagebc.ca

Last Saturday’s announcement that the provincial government will spend $8.7 million at two of its historic sites does nothing to address B.C.’s much broader scope of urgent heritage priorities, said Heritage BC today.
 
“While we support the government’s commitment to Barkerville and Fort Steele”, said HBC President, Larry Foster of Kelowna, “we are disappointed by the continued lack of response to a number of other critical issues that we have been pressing the government on for more than a year.  We agree that heritage is very important to B.C.’s tourism economy – we are a member of the B.C. Heritage Tourism Alliance.  And we are very pleased to hear government say it is committed to preserving our irreplaceable heritage, but you can’t do that by limiting investment exclusively to the very small number of sites that are government owned.  This is putting all your eggs in one small basket.”
 
The province began contracting out management of its government-owned heritage properties to local managers in 2002.  Since then, over $28 million has flowed to these 11 sites.   At the same time, heritage funding for communities, programs and agencies such as Heritage BC has dwindled down to almost zero.
 
Earlier this year, Heritage BC released “A Call to Renew British Columbia’s Heritage Program” which detailed how B.C.’s once excellent heritage program has unraveled over the years.  “We have been trying to make the government understand that things have reached a point of crisis”, said Mr. Foster, “but the narrow scope of this latest announcement only confirms that we have made no impression.”
 
“We have communities approaching us continually for assistance and funding”, said Rick Goodacre, HBC executive director.  “We have 170 member organizations around the province. This week alone we have been approached by five municipalities seeking help.  Our ability to respond to them in any meaningful way is very limited.  We have had no funding to offer communities since May, and our own funding continues to decline.  By next year, when Heritage BC should be celebrating its 30th anniversary, we will more likely be going out of business unless something happens soon.”

Find out more about how to support Heritage BC in its urgent campaign:
» A Call to Renew

For more information: 
Rick Goodacre
Executive Director
rgoodacre@heritagebc.ca
 

Ten years ago this spring, the federal government launched an unprecedented initiative. Contained within a multifaceted, billion dollar new arts and culture program, the heritage project, with a budget of only $30 million, might have seemed pretty inconsequential. But it wasn’t. The Historic Places Initiative was nothing less than the beginning of what should have become a new era in heritage conservation for Canada.  Even the CBC appeared to understand this. ‘The National’ covered the story for a week, each night delving into the state of heritage conservation in a different part of the country.

While some in British Columbia’s heritage community greeted the announcement with skepticism – after all, this was the federal government – Heritage BC took the view that the HPI was potentially the most important development at the national level in a generation. It made no sense to hold back:  there was little to lose, and possibly much to gain.  The Government of British Columbia, with its own heritage program at an all-time low, also jumped in with both feet.

So ten years later, where do things stand? This stark assessment by the Heritage Canada Foundation last fall sums things up succinctly:
“… we have seen the dismantling of the pan-Canadian Historic Places Initiative, and the disappearance of funding announced for a new National Trust. Today, the federal role in heritage conservation is largely non-existent, with no statutory protection for national historic sites, no rehabilitation incentives, and no predictable sources of funding.”

So what happened?

Before its demise last year, the HPI had some notable achievements.  The Canadian Register of Historic Places was established.  Parks Canada published the “Standards and Guidelines for the Conservation of Historic Places in Canada”.  For some, most significant was the creation of the Commercial Heritage Property Incentive Fund, with a pilot-project budget of $30 million.

In B.C., an immediate effect of the HPI was dollars, millions that flowed into the provincial Heritage Branch over several years.  Many of these dollars streamed back out to local
governments for much-needed work on community heritage programs, especially the creation, expansion and updating of heritage registers.

The Incentive Fund also brought millions of dollars into a few high-profile rehabilitation projects.  Overall, the HPI brought funding, training and skills, fresh ideas, and a renewed sense of purpose and capacity.
Looked at from a national perspective, the HPI achieved the almost unthinkable in bringing all the provinces and territories together to work collaboratively with the federal government on a shared vision for heritage conservation.

In the end, the demise of the HPI was a question of politics.  While there were some bugs that needed fixing, things were going pretty well.  But then the Liberal Government, which had created the HPI, got mired in the sponsorship scandal and self-destructed.  The Conservative Government that took over in 2006 quickly moved to terminate the Commercial Heritage Property Incentive Fund as “wasteful spending”.  The HPI limped along, but without essential political support.  Last year, funding to the provinces and territories, the life blood of the project, ceased.

In retrospect, the HPI brought a new, values-based approach to heritage conservation, and, for the first time, a unity of understanding across the country.  Here in B.C., the multi-year infusion of cash gave new life to the provincial heritage program, and a lot of important work got done in many communities.  But the great potential of HPI was not realized.  We have a half-completed national heritage register, no national heritage incentive program (the key selling point for the majority of heritage advocates in B.C.), and the legacy of another cancelled government project, another good idea gored by politics.  Those who really got behind this program can only feel let down.  Heritage Canada’s uncharacteristically blunt assessment of our country’s heritage program today is all too accurate.

Support heritage conservation in BC. Read more!

» A Call to Renew

The Ministry of Tourism, Trade and Investment has confirmed Heritage Branch staff Jennifer Iredale as Director and Richard Linzey as Manager of Heritage Programs and Services.

Jennifer Iredale has over 30 years experience as a heritage professional, 25 of them in the public sector. She has a BA in history from UBC and a MA in Historic Preservation from Columbia University in New York. Highlights of her career include working as a curator at several Provincial Heritage Properties, including Barkerville, Point Ellice House and Carr House. Jennifer has written for provincial heritage publications on the topic of building conservation, curated exhibits and edited publications focussing on women in colonial B.C. As Senior Curator with the Branch she also took on responsibilities in heritage tourism and heritage and sustainability. 

Carleton Elementary in Vancouver has received a reprieve, along with several other schools, after a majority of school board trustees have confirmed this week that they will vote not to close any of them.

Sir Guy Carleton School includes at least three buildings of heritage value.  The oldest of them has been closed for a few years following a fire. Heritage BC wrote to the Vancouver School Board last spring when demolition was threatened.  We wrote again this fall, after the immediate demolition threat had passed, when we learned that the entire school complex was faced with closure.

A very energetic community campaign appears to have been a deciding factor in keeping Carleton open, at least for the present.  Trustees are now exploring other options and uses for this and other schools threatened with closure.

Carleton was part of our feature article 'Under Pressure' on Vancouver's Heritage Schools this fall. Read the story here:
» HBC Fall Quarterly

Click here for the previous News article:
» Carleton Elementary

VANCOUVER HERITAGE SCHOOLS UNDER PRESSURE is the theme of the HBC Fall 2010 Quarterly. Click here to read more:
» HBC FALL 2010

Passionate about heritage preservation, Helen Edwards has devoted 30 years to the cause.  She raises funds for Hallmark Society projects in Victoria and works as their chief researcher and manager.  She was a Director of Heritage BC for eight years and recently completed her third term as President of the Heritage Legacy Fund of BC Society.  She is a member of the Heritage Canada Educators’ Roundtable.

Helen is also a writer, researcher and heritage consultant.  Since graduation from the University of Victoria in 2001, she has worked on projects for government and private clients, independently and in collaboration with other firms.  Helen is past president of the Canadian Association of Heritage Professionals, and was instrumental in establishing their B.C. Chapter. Helen’s contribution to the local heritage scene was acknowledged in 2005 when the Victoria YM/YWCA named her a Woman of Distinction.

Pixie served as the community volunteer archivist for 20 years, and six years on the Burnaby Community Heritage Commission.  She was President of the Burnaby Historical Society from 1991–1993.  One of Pixie’s most valuable contributions was taking charge of Friends of Interurban 1223 just when the project to restore one of the last interurban trams needed a leader.  The City of Burnaby honoured her as Citizen of the Year in 2002, and she received the Heritage BC Ruby Nobbs Award in 2008.  A well-attended celebration of Pixie’s life was held on August 30 at the Burnaby Village Museum’s Tram Barn.

A British Columbia architect since 1990, 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.  He teaches heritage conservation planning in the Vancouver Heritage Foundation’s Old School Program.  He is also a director of Heritage BC since 2009.  Eric’s work has been recognized with numerous awards including a Heritage BC Outstanding Achievement Award in 2008 for the BCER Depot.

Read the full proposal online
» A Call to Renew

Download a copy
»  A Call to Renew PDF

The first building that went up at the Carleton Elementary site was built in 1896.  Originally called the Vancouver East School, it is said to be Vancouver’s oldest 
surviving school building, and is listed as an “A” heritage resource on Vancouver’s 
heritage register.

The school suffered a serious fire in 2006.  Closed since then, the VSB last year 
proposed to turn it into an early learning centre, but the provincial government refused to put up the estimated $625,000 required, saying there was excess capacity in the area already.  The Education Ministry in fact offered $75,000 toward the cost of demolition.  Without funding, and facing a projected $17 million deficit in the VSB budget this year,  staff recommended last March that the building should come down, but trustees voted to allow a couple of months for an alternative proposal.

A campaign was mounted to save the historic school.  The Collingswood neighbourhood is very heritage conscious and was not ready to give in easily.  With the brief 60-day reprieve in place, Heritage BC wrote to the VSB in April, urging more time be allowed to find an alternative plan.

Six months later the school is still standing, but the threat has now changed.  The School Board has announced that it would like to close the entire complex because of low student enrollment in east Vancouver.  Trustees had warned of this possibility last spring during the demolition discussion.  The complex includes two more vintage school buildings, one constructed in 1908 and the other in 1912.

The Collingswood neighbourhood wants to keep its heritage buildings, and its schools open.  A petition has garnered over 6,000 signatures.  Heritage BC has again written to the VSB President, this time to raise a concern about the consequences of closing historic buildings for extended periods.

The VSB is hosting neighbourhood consultation meetings with parents and the community this fall.  A final decision will be made about Carleton by the end of December.

VANCOUVER HERITAGE SCHOOLS UNDER PRESSURE is the theme story of the HBC Fall 2010 Quarterly. Click here to read more:
» HBC FALL 2010

Visit the Education section of our website for more educational opportunities.

Click here for details about 'Old School' courses:

» www.vancouverheritagefoundation.ca

The Third Annual CHC Conference will be held in New Westminster on Saturday, November 27. The New Westminster CHC is the host and Heritage BC is a funding sponsor.

CHCs are an integral part of community-based heritage conservation. Appointed by municipal council, these advisory bodies also frequently undertake special projects and initiatives.

The first one-day CHC conference took place two years ago through the initiative of the Mission CHC. It was a success and Maple Ridge quickly volunteered to
host the next one in 2009.

For several years Heritage BC included a “CHC Day” in the annual conference program, but it was eventually dropped as attendance fell off. Now there seems to be a renewed desire for an opportunity to network and share ideas.

Watch for more information in the next few weeks on our website!

> Invitation

> Registration Form

» Events

PHOTO: TOURISM NEW WESTMINSTER

Click here for more information and a copy of the proposal:

» A Call to Renew

Contact:
Rick Goodacre, Executive Director
rgoodacre@heritagebc.ca

This summer, Heritage BC released a new document entitled 'A Call to Renew British Columbia’s Heritage Program'. Drafted in response to the ongoing deterioration of the state of heritage in B.C., 'A Call to Renew' has been sent to every MLA, including the Premier and heritage minister Kevin Krueger.  It has also been sent to HBC members with a request that they contact their MLAs and write the provincial government. Heritage BC is calling on the provincial government to take five steps to renew the heritage program.

Adopt the Provincial Heritage Strategy

Adopt the draft British Columbia Heritage Strategy to reaffirm commitment to conservation and renew confidence in the future.

Restore the Heritage Branch Budget

The Heritage Branch is the provincial agency that implements government heritage policies and administers essential programs, but drastic cuts have seriously undermined its capacity to deliver on these responsibilities.  The Heritage Branch budget must be restored.

Resolve the Heritage Properties Question

The series of historic sites known as the Heritage Properties has become a chronic problem and a drain on energy and resources.  The government must resolve the Heritage Properties question so that it can address other urgent issues in the heritage file.

Restore Community Support

The “B.C. approach” to heritage conservation devolves substantial responsibilities to the local level.  A restored heritage program budget must restore services, funding and encouragement to local government and community heritage organizations.

Invest in the Heritage Legacy Fund

The Heritage Legacy Fund now plays a central role in the provincial heritage program.  To meet new and growing responsibilities the Fund must have a substantial increment to its endowment.

Read the full proposal online
» A Call to Renew

Download a copy
»  A Call to Renew PDF

According to Heritage Canada, “Since 2005, the B.C. Ministry of Education’s Seismic Mitigation Program has provided funds to ensure schools are made safer from earthquake damage.  The funding formula limits the cost of a seismic retrofit to 70% of the cost of new construction.  The VSB has been taking this opportunity to replace rather than upgrade its schools. In other parts of B.C., schools have been sequentially emptied and seismically upgraded, with minimal disruption and no demolition.”

On July 5 the School Board voted to demolish all of Kitsilano Senior Secondary, keeping only the front façade and selected windows, doors and hand railings.

» www.heritagecanada.org    

On June 29, 2005, the board of directors of the Heritage Legacy Fund of B.C. Society sat down to consider the first batch of applications to their
new grant program.  Launched just three months earlier, the program offered matching grants – up to $25,000 for Heritage Conservation and $10,000 for Heritage Awareness.

The response to the program launch had been immediate and a little overwhelming.  The British Columbia Heritage Trust had shut down two years earlier, when the Heritage Legacy Fund was just getting started.  In the meantime, there had been no program in the province dedicated to supporting community-based heritage conservation, so there was quite a backlog of projects looking for assistance.

Grant number one, for $25,000, went to the District of Lillooet for conservation and up-grading of the historic Miyazaki House.  That first day the board also approved funding for 11 other conservation projects.  It was a pretty exciting experience.  At a second meeting a month later, five awareness projects were awarded funding.  Altogether in that first year, the HLF provided just over a quarter of a million dollars in financial support.

Find out more about HLF and the many projects it supports.

For a copy of 'Heritage Legacy Fund: The First Five Years' please contact us or click here to view the PDF. Find out more about HLF and the many projects it supports.
» About HLF

   

After a decade of determined effort by several groups and individuals across the 
country, the HLPA was passed into law in 2008,  to be brought into effect two years later.  The move by DFO brought this response from Heritage Canada:

…the HLPA recognizes that lighthouses form “an integral part of Canada’s identity, culture and history” and that measures are needed to protect them for posterity.  The Act establishes a 
process to:  select and designate federally-owned heritage lighthouses;  prevent their unauthorized alteration and disposal;  require their maintenance by the federal government;  and facilitate sales or transfers in order to ensure their continuing public purpose.

However the Act excludes lighthouses that are declared surplus from being 
designated unless a community group or private owner commits to acquire them and protect their heritage character.  The impact of DFO now declaring all its 
lighthouses surplus effectively emasculates the HLPA and shifts the responsibility 
for their protection entirely onto local communities.

Lighthouse divesture was a component of the Act, but never the principle intent.

The Heritage Canada Foundation is calling on communities across Canada to 
petition for the heritage designation of lighthouses regardless of their “surplus” 
status, and urges the Minister of the Environment to ensure the full intent of the 
Act is adhered to.

For more articles about the Lighthouse Bill, please see the Winter 2010 Quarterly 

» HBC Quarterly

HOMEOWNER PROTECTION ACT 

After four years of advocacy, the provincial Homeowner Protection Act (HPA) has been amended to exempt officially recognized heritage property.

The 1998 HPA was brought in following the leaky condo scandal.  The purpose of the Act is to provide protection to buyers of new homes.  Under the Act each new home in B.C. is covered by warranty insurance again defects.

Heritage got caught up with the HPA when it turned out that an old building converted into new residences was also covered by the Act.  The result was that heritage buildings were being forced to conform to code requirements that were not a good fit.  To satisfy the warranty provider, windows and doors were being replaced, not restored and repaired, and in some cases entire wall assemblies were being rebuilt as new.  The result was a significant loss of heritage fabric.

Heritage houses converted to condos were also under the gun as the HPA again applied since the condos were considered new homes.  The results were predictable — more loss of heritage character.

Heritage BC wrote to the Homeowner Protection Office in 2006 to raise our concerns about the impacts of the HPA on heritage buildings.  A meeting took place that fall, with the Office and a number of warranty companies on one side, and heritage representatives on the other, the latter including representatives of business and local government as well as HBC.

While there seemed to be little disagreement that the destruction of heritage fabric was not one of the intents of the HPA, there was no clear path forward to correct the situation.

More meetings followed.  A group of interested parties came together to represent the heritage camp.  In 2008 a report, “Some Negative Effects of the Homeowner Protection Act on the Character of British Columbia’s Built Environment”, was submitted to the Homeowner Protection Office by the provincial Heritage Branch, the City of Victoria and HBC.

With still no action, the heritage group decided in February of 2009 to take the political route.  It was agreed that municipal councils would be asked by staff to submit a resolution to the Union of BC Municipalities to seek a heritage exemption under the HPA.  Heritage BC drafted a background statement and three municipalities submitted requests.   A resolution made it to the agenda of the UBCM 2009 convention, but was not considered.

Finally, in December of 2009 Heritage BC wrote to Rich Coleman, the minister responsible for the HPA, seeking an exemption.  Encouraged by the Heritage Branch, heritage minister Kevin Krueger simultaneously wrote to Mr. Coleman, also proposing an exemption, along the lines of a recent amendment to the Energy Efficiency Standards Regulation. In March of this year of Mr. Coleman wrote to Heritage BC that his ministry would draft such an exemption, and on June 24, it became law.   The following has been added to The HPA Regulations list of exemptions:

-  In the case of a designated heritage building that is being converted from commercial to residential use, any component of the designated building that has heritage value and does not conform with the B.C. Building Code.

- For the purpose of the Act, “designated” means legally designated (protected) or included on a heritage register.  

-  The Act has also been clarified with regard to “substantial reconstruction” of a home:  unless 75 per cent or more of a residence is reconstructed, it is not considered a new home and the HPA therefore does not apply.

It has been a long road, but this looks like the right result.

On Friday, July 29th, 1910, an expedition, led by British Columbia’s Chief Commissioner of Lands, the Honourable Price Ellison, reached the summit of Crown Mountain in central Vancouver Island. Their objective was to explore the surrounding region for the purposes of establishing a park. On the advice of Ellison, legislation was enacted in March, 1911, to create British Columbia’s first Provincial Park, Strathcona.

This summer the Strathcona Centennial Expedition is following in the footsteps of the original party and re-enacting Ellison’s journey to kick off celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the creation of Strathcona and all of B.C.’s Provincial Parks.

The Centennial Expedition will follow the route of the original 1910 party as closely as possible.  Beginning in Campbell River they will hike to McIvor Lake where they will take canoes up the Campbell Lake chain to the old Elk River Timber Co. trestle bridge on Upper Campbell Lake.  An overland party will travel through rugged, mountainous country to Crown Mountain for an ascent on July 29, 2010, one hundred years exactly from Ellison’s own climb. The expedition continues by canoe and on foot, arriving the first week of August in Port Alberni for a community event at the Alberni Valley museum.  They then travel by road and railway back to Victoria.

PHOTO: 1910 Expedition, courtesy of the Museum at Campbell River

Find out more!
» www.wildisle.ca

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

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.

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 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)

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

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

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

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.

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?

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

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

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

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.

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.

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

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

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

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)

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.

 

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

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)

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.

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.

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)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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.

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 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.

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

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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.

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

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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)

• 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

BY ROSEMARY BJORKNAS :  HBC QUARTERLY SUMMER 2008

FROM HBC QUARTERLY FALL 2008

Contact us to get a poster and read more

» Heritage Week 2009

» Resources : Heritage Tourism

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

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.

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

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

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.

• 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

• 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 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.

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

POSTED BY RICHARD LINZEY, SENIOR HERITAGE PLANNER, HERITAGE BRANCH

• 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

BY RICK GOODACRE, HERITAGE BC

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

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

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

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.



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!