Community Heritage Register: Legislation
Following is the legislation as it is found in the Local Government Act (LGA), plus an accompanying commentary. Further details follow in other sections of the guide
| Community heritage register (s. 598) | By including “community” in the name, it can be understood this form of heritage recognition is done on behalf of the community. Because the community heritage commission typically oversees the register, it is reasonable to say the recognition of local heritage should be by and for the community. |
| 1.
A local government may, by resolution, establish a Community Heritage Register that identifies real property that is considered by the local government to be heritage property. |
While the local government will make resolutions to establish a register and to approve additions and deletions to the list, the oversight of the register is often responsibility of the Community Heritage Commission (see our guide on CHCs).
Because “real property” is a phrase that is not easily understood, it is described in detail in a separate section of this guide. |
| 2.
A Community Heritage Register a. must indicate the reasons why property included in the Community Heritage Register is considered to have heritage value or heritage character, and |
The description of heritage value and character is typically contained in a Statement of Significance (SoS). All entries on a Community Heritage Register should have an up-to-date SoS.
Information about Statement of Significance can be found here and here. |
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b. may distinguish between heritage properties of differing degrees and kinds of heritage value or heritage character. |
It is possible to develop a recognition program that ranks heritage sites according to differing values and characters or “degrees” of heritage. Some local governments have developed such a system (e.g. Vancouver), while other local governments established heritage registers without any form of grading or classification (e.g. New Westminster). There have been situations where a grading system was simplified, so that the CHR would be less confusing and would better serve heritage recognition (e.g. City of North Vancouver). |
| 3.
Within 30 days after including property in a Community Heritage Register or deleting property from a Community Heritage Register, the local government must give notice of this a. to the owner of the heritage property in accordance with section 592, and b. to the heritage minister in accordance with section 595. |
Section 595 of the LGA requires local governments to notify the provincial government when an addition (or deletion) is made to their Community Heritage Register. Information on submitting a new entry to the Province can be found here and the form to submit a new entry can be found here. The new information is entered onto the BC Register of Historic Places. The Heritage Branch (Province of BC) then provides the information to the Canadian Register of Historic Places. An interactive map showing all registered and designated heritage sites in BC can be found here. Canada’s Historic Places can be found here.
It is possible to add a property to a CHR prior to notifying the owner, however it is likely a better practice to work with the property owner during the assessment phase. Many local governments follow the initiatives of the property owners before considering properties for their CHRs. |
| 4.
The protection of heritage property is not affected by an error or omission in a Community Heritage Register. |
Please refer to the Implications and Benefits section. (link) |
Further Background
Along with other heritage conservation tools, the Community Heritage Register (CHR) originates in the Local Government Act (LGA). In response to the then new LGA, the Heritage Conservation: A Community Guide (1995) was written to provide a helpful starting point for interpretation. Comments have been added for further clarity (right-hand column).
| By resolution, local government can establish an official listing of properties identified as having heritage character or heritage value to the community. A Community Heritage Register: | Examples of a recommendation and resolution can be found in this guide. |
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The CHR provides a local government with the means to identify, acknowledge and recognize local heritage assets and resources that have heritage value and heritage character. Inclusion in the Official Community Plan and land use planning, to name two examples, indicate a community vision related to heritage awareness and conservation. |
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All homeowners, including owners of heritage properties, are required to seek licenses and permits before making alterations to their properties; in the case of heritage properties, the cumulative effect of the alterations can be better understood when a list of heritage properties has already been established. While the local government is able to monitor alterations to CHR-listed properties, the local government does not have the authority to impose separate restrictions on heritage properties that it could not impose on other types of properties. However, the local government does have access to heritage-related management tools; see Implications and Benefits for more information. (Note, this is not the case for properties that have been designated. Please refer to the guide on Designation.) |
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The Community Heritage Register can be a means to raise awareness of heritage values and characteristics that the community, through the local government, considers to be important. See Implications and Benefits for more information. |
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Inclusion of a property on a Community Heritage Register does not confer protection and does not create any financial liability for the local government. The implications of inclusion on the CHR are commonly misunderstood; see Implications and Benefits for more information. |
Heritage Inventory
Some local governments have developed heritage inventories, a less rigorous process than the Community Heritage Register. In some cases, the inventories have become static in favour of the CHR.
While a property on an inventory is not automatically placed on the CHR, it should not be assumed that the any property not on the CHR does not have heritage value.
Properties are regularly added to CHRs, often on the initiative of the property owner.
BC Register of Historic Places (source)
The BC Register of Historic Places is part of the provincial heritage register of historic and archaeological sites that exists as a statutory requirement of the Heritage Conservation Act. The BC Register of Historic Places is a subset of the records on the provincial heritage register database, and is the province’s official list of post-1846 historic places that have been formally recognized by the Province or by a local government.
The BC Register of Historic Places supports land use decisions, heritage conservation projects, and public awareness initiatives. The database contains over 4,600 entries representing the diversity of historic places across the province.
Canadian Register of Historic Places (source)
The Canadian Register of Historic Places is a searchable database of historic places across Canada that have been recognized for their heritage value by local, provincial, territorial and federal governments. The database and website are hosted by Parks Canada on behalf of all the participating jurisdictions.
Historic places from the BC Register that are fully documented, including a Statement of Significance, are added to the Canadian Register of Historic Places by the BC Registrar at the Heritage Branch. Listing on the Canadian Register supports celebration of Canada’s historic places, public education and tourism development but does not provide additional protection or National Historic Site status.