The director of Action Patrimoine, Renée Genest, requested in March the refusal of the request for authorization to demolish the building, citing the absence of a report from an independent professional in heritage restoration and the lack of information on the reasons for the request, including the proposed use of the cleared land.
This was the second time that Action Patrimoine challenged the demolition plans for 190 Main Street.
On March 20, the North Hatley demolition committee still voted unanimously in favor of demolition, which put the ball back in the elected officials’ court. In 2023, the municipal council decided not to follow the committee’s recommendation and to refuse the request.
This time, elected officials consider that they had more information to decide. “There were studies that had not been provided,” notes the mayor about the evolution of the file.
Thanks to this new data, particularly on the heritage value of the building, the council said it was comfortable accepting the owners’ request.
It was accepted under certain conditions. For example, the Municipality requires that as many heritage components as possible be dismantled and integrated into the next construction.
However, the replacement plan is not known at the moment, no additional details on this procedure were given during Monday’s municipal session.
Disagreement with Action Patrimoine
The council’s decision must be confirmed by the MRC of Memphrémagog and by the Ministry of Culture and Communications who will also evaluate the request in turn. Elected officials are optimistic that demolition will also be approved elsewhere.
“We did our job. We feel comfortable taking the file and passing it on to the next person to see what they say.”
— Marcella Davis Gerrish, mayor of North Hatley
Asked about Action Patrimoine’s point of view in the matter, the mayor said she disagreed with their assertions. “I care about heritage myself. Especially for our municipality, there is a lot of history. […] But we know that we followed the steps.”
“It’s not a simple decision,” concedes Marcella Davis Gerrish. “That’s why we took our time and looked at all the elements.”
In his opinion, the citizens of North Hatley better understood the problem during the public consultation meeting on the project on March 20. They were able to see, among other things, the current state of the building.
Relief for owners
Present at the meeting, one of the building’s owners, Kimberley Myles, was satisfied with the council’s decision.
“We are really happy that it happened this time,” says Ms. Myles, recalling the length of the process.
“We understand that there are many people who have strong emotions on this subject. […] But the fact that the house cannot be healed, that gives us no choice.”
The owners are currently working on plans to replace the heritage house, but did not know when they will be ready. “It’s a process. We can’t do anything without the City giving its approval.”
They want to begin the next steps “as soon as possible”.
