ERIN – Residents officially have a new way to recognize the history of their properties through heritage plaques.
Approved at an Erin council meeting Thursday afternoon, councillors said the town's new heritage plaque policy is intended to recognize a property's historical significance while increasing public awareness of the community’s heritage and enabling landowners to showcase their property's character.
Council originally directed staff in March to prepare a report regarding the potential establishment of a heritage plaque policy.
Considered the foundation for the proposed policy, the program was originally developed by Erin's Heritage Committee in late 2023 and early 2024.
"This is a plaque of pride, as opposed to a designation, so you do not have to have anything to do with a building, house, or barn that is on our (designated heritage) list," said Coun. Jamie Cheyne during the meeting. "The real premise of (the plaque program) was to showcase the historic buildings we have...and I think we'll have some uptake in this pretty quick."
While properties do not need to be listed in the town's heritage register to apply for a plaque, applicants must provide information about the property's chronology of ownership to verify its history.
Once an application is submitted, it will be evaluated by the Heritage Committee.
Isabel Buckmaster is the Local Journalism Initiative reporter for GuelphToday. LJI is a federally-funded program.
