All eyes on Mount Stephen

You remember that one — a group of condo owners left homeless for more than two years following a fire in their building. They were not allowed to return to their homes because the damaged building could not be properly renovated up to code. In a nutshell, the code's standards had been raised since the building's construction and the extra expenses required to bring it up to the new code would not be covered by the insurance company.

And guess what — the Mount Stephen fire occurred in a century-old building that has significant heritage value in a community that places great value on such things. This means that any repairs or renovations to the building will be done under the strict observation of the City. Over the years we have heard numerous complaints from residents who were frustrated in their attempts to change their windows or make some other alteration to their home, all because their plans did not conform to the building's original appearance or the street's 'character'. As they quickly found out, the privilege of living in a 'heritage' property comes at a price. And obviously, the expenses in restoring such a building would be significantly higher than a 'normal' building.

Westmount's longstanding tradition of celebrating and maintaining heritage properties is to be applauded, for precious few communities even bother to value such qualities. But in the case of an old heritage building facing extensive renovations, will the inevitable extra costs lead to another prolonged insurance stalemate? Obviously, if that happened once on the corner of de Maisonneuve and Melville, it could happen just as easily farther up the street on Mount Stephen.

Being forced out of your home by a fire is devastating enough. Let's hope that the victims of last week's blaze are not further victimized by administrative regulations and frustrating amounts of red tape, just as their neighbours on the other side of Sherbrooke Street — residents of a much less 'significant' building — have been forced to endure for the past two years.

When it comes to preparing a burned-out building for re-habitation, the priority must always be getting the residents back home as quickly and as safely as possible — even if it means bending a few aesthetic rules.