Council approves plan to replace Rockcliffe Park heritage home with duplex

The three-storey English country cottage-style building that currently sits at that address is full of mould and has sat vacant for years, city staff say, and its demolition was approved by the city’s Built Heritage Committee last month.

Published Dec 10, 2023 • Last updated 43 minutes ago • 2 minute read

A heritage home on the corner of Lisgar Road and Maple Lane in Rockcliffe Park that shows signs of an overgrown lot and a derelict residence, Sunday, Dec. 10 2023. Ashley Fraser/Postmedia Photo by Ashley Fraser /Postmedia

A nearly 100-year-old heritage residence across from Rideau Hall will be replaced with a duplex, in a case the city’s heritage committee chair hopes is an exception, not a rule.

Ottawa City Council has approved a plan for a developer to build a duplex on the property across the road from the Governor General’s home. The property has two addresses: 1 Maple Ln and 112 Lisgar Rd.

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The three-storey English country cottage-style building is full of mould and has sat vacant for years, city staff say.

Its demolition was approved by the city’s Built Heritage Committee last month.

Since then, city staff have worked with the applicant to reduce the size of the replacement duplex, Rideau-Rockcliffe Coun. Rawlson King told council last week. King is also chair of the city’s heritage committee. City council signed off on a new plan that reduces the building’s footprint to cover about one-third of the lot, increasing the “soft landscaping” on the property.

“While some in the community aren’t pleased with the scope of the reduction, I believe we owe it to the Rockcliffe Park Residents Association for their interventions throughout the process,” King said. “Their input encouraged applicants to alter their design, utilize complimentary materials, and lower the replacement building’s footprint.”

Michele Hayman, vice-president of the Rockcliffe Park Residents Association’s heritage committee, previously told the city’s heritage committee she was “dismayed” that the historic house “has been so badly neglected for so long that engineering reports and heritage staff say the only option is demolition.” She said the method of “demolition by neglect” is used by some owners and developers to circumvent heritage protections, and the Rockcliffe Park Heritage Conservation Plan says demolition of this type of building should only be permitted in extraordinary circumstances, like fire and natural disaster.

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King said he was confident the city has taken steps to beef up its bylaw enforcement to protect heritage properties.

“I appreciate the loss of a heritage home in Rockcliffe Park will not be taken lightly across the city and by residents,” he said. “Residents feel this is due to demolition by neglect, and rightly, don’t want demolition by neglect to become a tool for redevelopment.”

The city can’t compel every heritage property owner to preserve and protect their heritage properties, he said, but the city “must ensure we continue to enhance our enforcement capacity to prevent it,” he said.

“I’m encouraged by the tools the city is putting in place to ensure Maple Lane is the exception, not the rule.”