Gravenhurst council has decided to leave it up to the owners of the former Severn River Inn on Cowbell Lane to protect the heritage value of their property.
During their latest meeting, council voted to repeal the heritage designation for the building at the request of the owners.
The Municipal Heritage Committee considered the request earlier in June and supported the owners. The owners said the request is due to high insurance costs for heritage-designated homes and the only way to bring their insurance costs down is to have the heritage designation removed.
“I think it’s a shame,” said Mayor Heidi Lorenz. “We do value our heritage here but we certainly don’t want to hold people hostage by their insurance payments. We’ve heard that they see the heritage value in their home and they plan to keep it looking like a heritage building.”
Council echoed Lorenz’s sentiments, saying there are serious issues with the Heritage Designation as it currently exists, and the resulting consequences for homeowners.
“This is a slippery slope, ” said Coun. Peter Johnston. “It bothers me that this is happening more and more in municipalities.”
Coun. Randy Jorgensen said the Gravenhurst Heritage Committee is increasingly looking at ways to signify local historical buildings without going through the formal process of a heritage designation.
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robert barnes says
Hello Gravenhurst
I wish to express my objection to the Repeal of the Heritage designation of the Severn River Inn.
We must remember the reason and significance of placing a Heritage designation on a Town asset or building.
The reason is to protect and preserve that asset because of it’s historical or cultural value. It is a promise to present and future generations of the Town that this asset will remain preserved and protected.
A Heritage designation is not a just a statement of it’s value for the present moment in time. It’s historical value does not disappear over time – to be repealed at some future date for a convenience or owner of the moment.
It is a promise to future generations – because that asset was deemed to have a unique and historical or cultural value. From the description of the history and features of the Severn River Inn this must be obvious to all who honour the heritage of our town.
The Repeal of the heritage status of the Severn River Inn will set a dangerous precedence for the other Heritage assets of this Town. It will show that Heritage designations can be reconsidered and removed at will for the benefit of commercial or personal interests.
We must not betray future generations by removing the Heritage protection for unique pieces of the history of our Town.
It is a significant precedent that our Council has removed the Heritage protection of our Severn River Inn asset. Promises by the owners to protect the Severn River Inn’s heritage value have no obligation for them to fulfill their promise. Check out the Severn River Inn AirBnB website. You won’t even find any of the modernized building’s heritage features even shown. Let’s see if these unique Heritage features of this Inn even exist in the next five years of being an AirBnB.
Respectfully
Robert Barnes
P.Eng (retired)
Dated 3 July, 2024.