410001661
Well-known member
I like the designation but there needs to be something in it for the owner - free property taxes or heavily discounted for a cities right to tell me what I can do with my legally owned property
How`s your house pricing doing?..
- Thread starter Glenn/RZ500
- Start date
If the town/historical society truly believes they are worth saving, the property owners should be responsible for paying current market prices for modern repairs (eg shingles or standard casement windows) and the town/historical society should foot the bill for the historical portion of the work (5-10x the modern bill). If the consequences of their decisions laid at their feet instead of kicking a 90 yo woman, the number of designations would plummet. There is little downside. As it is, their policies lead to demolition through neglect as repair is not financially viable and demolition will not be approved but nobody can stop abandonment.
@raginduck , that’s her house ! Very cool interior and very original inside . Sadly small interior rooms , because that how they were built . Lucky for her , her family originally owned a hundred acre parcel that went all the way to the lake , and she sold a four acres garden center to developers a couple yrs ago , she’ll be ok . My post was more a cautionary tale of what a “historical” society can do for you when lead by volunteers that may not actually have any clue what they are tagging .
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410001661
Well-known member
I had a friend that owned an older house (that needed a reno) and was approached by the historical society and he threated to fight them on it and if need be demolish it and build a new one - they backed off because they knew he could get a demo permit quicker than they could make it a heritage house.
In a similar law of unintended consequences, a GTA municipality used to have a good tree cutting bylaw. You were allowed to cut two trees a year for any reason. More than that required paperwork. The councilors led by stupidity decided to change the bylaw to one similar to toronto where every tree requires an arborists report, hundreds of dollars in fees, application, approval, etc. On the eve of the bylaw coming into force, many lots were clearcut. It was much cheaper to deal with potential fines from the old bylaw than to deal with the insanity of the new one. Lot value without trees could easily be double the lot value with even a single protected tree in a bad location.
Mad Mike
Well-known member
Every few years a tree toppling storm hits Markham, the tree cut bylaw gets suspended for. ‘Cleanup window’.
My 24” saw is at the ready for when the next storm hits. I’ve got a nuisance Manitoba maple town a 80’ wide canopy that cost me $1000 a year to maintain. It will hit the dirt.
410001661
Well-known member
I hate those trees........had one in the back of my yard and one day it was down and I just played ignorant.
.....and there it was.........GONE
Dresden
Well-known member
I read a news piece a week or so ago.. that sounds like it was about your friend's house.
‘I feel like I’m being held hostage’: Oakville resident applies to have heritage designation removed from Lakeshore Road home
Sandy Cudmore and her family say the heritage designation is hurting efforts to sell the farmhouse on Lakeshore Road she had lived in for 70 years.www.insidehalton.com
This is the exact scenario facing countless families along the Greenbelt…
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Mad Mike
Well-known member
The last time I had to remove a dangerously rotten tree, the town arborist had to inspect before I could cut it.
He had an aerial map of my property with all trees inventoried. He checked that the trees that should be here are here.
On a kinda interesting note, there are 2 giant Manitoba maples 5’ behind my house on town property. They cost the town thousands a year in maintenance (fallen limbs, crown reductions, damaged fences). 2 years back they wanted to replace their trees - non native, hazard, high cost to maintain. I said no objection as long as I can do the same with mine. Crickets.
In Etobicoke there was a rule measuring the diameter at shoulder height that made the difference. I just took out about 30 bushes with a max diameter of 4 inches. They were about 10 feet tall.
I didn't ask, just called an arborist and they were gone, roots ground out for just under $2k
I didn't ask, just called an arborist and they were gone, roots ground out for just under $2k
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6" diameter at 1.37m is the test for whether it is a tree in Oakville. If you are in the ballpark, make sure there is nothing left that could be used to dispute your measurement of less than 6" at 1.37m. Ornamental hedges have the same test.
"If your tree measures 47 cm or less around its trunk at 137 cm above ground level, the tree is considered to be less than 15 cm DBH and you do not need a permit to remove it."
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Mad Mike
Well-known member
It’s a tree.
Most cities use a 6” @ DBHrule (diameter at breast height, 6” at 4’6”). At or above 6” DBH requires permits.
Begging with bylaw officers has the same success as begging with RIDE officers.
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I can't say for anywhere else. Last I looked, a permit is required in Toronto at 12 inches across at four feet high, technically that in metric. I thought that was pretty standard?
6" abh is far more common.
My trees that need to go measure 5 7/8 at 1.37m , they can go!!
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