By Sebastian Kanally
The Oliver and District Heritage Society (ODHS) is seeking an update to the town’s 2005 Heritage Strategic Plan to hopefully implement measures “with teeth” to preserve heritage buildings in the community.
Darren Halstead, executive director of the ODHS brought a recommendation to council to include discussions of budgeting for the society to commission a cultural heritage consultant to update the plan.
Council agreed to bring the topic to the Dec. 11 meeting for discussion.
Hiring this cultural heritage consultant would update the 18 year old strategic plan and “develop options for a Municipal Heritage Incentives Program, to guide council on how best to encourage the conservation and preservation of the buildings appearing on the Town of Oliver Community Heritage Register,” Halstead’s presentation explained.
Halstead noted that five important buildings in Oliver have recently undergone changes in ownership, or were put up for sale, prompting concern for preserving the “aesthetic, architecture and even purpose” of these heritage buildings to the Town of Oliver.
The five properties brought to council’s attention are the former Reopel / Desert Arms Hotel and its iconic sign. This building was recently sold after being vacant and on the market for a number of months. The Oliver Theatre, the Oliver United Church, and the Oliver Chronicle building are all prominent buildings in the town that are also seeing changes.
Lastly, the former office of Dr. Ball, one of the first medical doctors to serve Oliver, has been advertised for sale.
Halstead explained that these are just five of the 56 properties that are on the community heritage register.
This list was compiled back in 2005 when the Oliver and District Community Heritage Strategic Plan was created.
Although the register exists, Halstead noted that it has no “legal weight” because the recommended follow-up was never conducted.
The development of a heritage management process, including incentive programs to assist property owners in the restoration of their properties was never done.
This heritage management process, Halstead explained, would provide recommendations on how “carrots and sticks can be employed” to incentivize the community to encourage them to maintain the aesthetics, architecture, and perhaps even the purpose of their buildings.
Halstead noted that there is a grant offered through the provincial Heritage Legacy Fund that can be applied for regarding this type of work. The ODHS has been successful in applying for it before and would be happy to work alongside the town to apply for it.
Councillor Aimee Grice noted, “I think the ODHS is probably well overdue for a refresh of the strategic plan if 2005 is the most recent copy, and I would definitely say apply for the grant.
That being said, I would like to see this brought forward to our budget discussions for consideration.”
Mayor Martin Johansen added that he thinks this type of decision may require a public consultation because of the potential financial impact on the town and the people who own the properties.
The former Reopel / Desert Arms Hotel and its iconic sign. This building was recently sold to a new owner after being on the market for a number of months.
