Municipal Heritage Legislation

Heritage designation in British Columbia is largely done through municipal governments, using the Local Government Act.

• The Local Government Act
  • A general act providing guidelines and regulations for ways in which municipal governments operate.
  • Part 15: Heritage Conservation
    • Covers the process involved in heritage recognition, designation, regulation and protection at the municipal level.
    • Division 3: Heritage Review
      • Discusses the processes involved in establishing a community heritage register:

“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. (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 character and (b) may distinguish between heritage properties of different degrees and kinds of heritage value or heritage character”. (Local Government Act, Part 15, Division 3, 598. http://www.bclaws.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/r15001_15 (January 15, 2020))

The City of Vancouver has its own charter and has tailored its heritage conservation program using the tools provided by the provincial government.

• The Vancouver Charter
  • A Local Government Act tailored specifically for the City of Vancouver, which includes its own section on Heritage Conservation (Part XXVIII).
  • Part XXVIII: Heritage Conservation
    • Through the Vancouver Charter, the City of Vancouver Council has a range of tools available to recognize and safeguard heritage places.
    • Council is able to set up arrangements with property owners, encouraging them to restore or rehabilitate their heritage properties.

Using the provisions of the Vancouver Charter, the City of Vancouver has established a heritage conservation program, known as The Heritage Program as of 2020, as well as zoning and by-laws to recognize, manage and protect historic places.

Maintained by the City of Vancouver Department of Planning, Urban Design and Sustainability, the Vancouver Heritage Register provides “a listing of buildings and structures, streetscapes, landscape resources (parks and landscapes, trees, monuments, public works) and archaeological sites which have architectural or historical heritage value”.

• Created in 1986 as the Heritage Inventory, as part of the City of Vancouver’s centennial.
• Addition to the Register offers options for retention, though buildings can still be demolished, unlike designated sites, discussed in the next section.
• Prior to 2024, Heritage buildings were given a category; A- Primary Significance, B- Significant, C- Contextual or Character
• Qualifying for the Vancouver Heritage Register:
  • Sites must be identified as having heritage value and/or heritage character, and be at least 20 years old.

Council also has the power to designate heritage properties, protecting them from alteration or destruction. The designation is then noted on the property title.

• Designation is often achieved through a Heritage Revitalization Agreement with the property owner.
• Alterations to a designated property require a Heritage Alteration Permit to ensure that changes made do not damage the heritage significance of the place.
• Interior or landscape features can be included in the designation and will be noted on the Heritage Register listing as well as on the property title.

An alternative to designation is a covenant under the Land Title Act, Section 219. A covenant is an agreement that can limit future use, alteration or alienation of land or structures on the land.

• It travels with the title so all future owners are bound by it as well.
• Covenants can be between a property owner and a local government or heritage organization.

Heritage Conservation: A Community Guide,https://heritagebc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/heritage_conservation_community_guide.pdf (July 8, 2021)

A number of Vancouver’s heritage resources are clustered in areas that represent key aspects of Vancouver’s history and are valued for their special features or characteristics.

• Vancouver has three distinct Historic Areas and one Heritage Conservation Area that have special zoning, regulations, and companion design guidelines intended to retain historic buildings and encourage sympathetic development: Chinatown, Gastown, Yaletown and First Shaughnessy.
  • In 1971, Chinatown and Gastown became the first two Historic Areas designated in British Columbia, by the province.
    • Many individual sites are now municipally designated within these areas.
    • Core areas of Gastown and of Chinatown have since been designated by the federal government as National Historic Sites of Canada.
  • In 2015, Vancouver made First Shaughnessy its first Heritage Conservation Area, strengthening the heritage management tools for this neighbourhood that was previously identified and managed as a heritage area under the First Shaughnessy Official Development Plan.

Zoning and development by-laws adopted at the municipal level regulate property development by encouraging land use and building according to community goals and visions for the future.

• Examples include parts of the Strathcona, Mount Pleasant, Kitsilano and Grandview neighbourhoods.