to prove a point
Jul 18, 2004
Shelley Jordan, Staff Writer
BOWMANVILLE-- Smack in the middle of the heritage designation battle zone, a house with purple pillars stands out from the rest.
And that's the point, said Jeff Wills who owns the Beech Avenue house in Bowmanville.
Mr. Wills, once avidly against the designation, said he painted the pillars of his house purple to draw attention to a Web site he created, www.purplepillars.com, that contains the results of his extensive research on the subject.
"We intend to live here forever," said Mr. Wills, "and I want to always like the neighbourhood I live in."
Mr. Wills, who shares his home with his wife and two daughters, said he was against the designation after a group with a petition approached him explaining why they believed heritage district designation was not appropriate for the downtown Bowmanville neighbourhood.
"At the time, I was ready to walk over to Councillor Don MacArthur's house and tell him he lost my vote and that I was running against him in the next election," said Mr. Wills. "Luckily, he wasn't home."
Coun. MacArthur, who lives within the perimeter of the area under consideration, has questioned the information offered in the petition during council meetings. He leads discussions among the Local Architectural Conservation Advisory Committee, the Old Bowmanville Neighbourhood Association and those apposed to designation.
As Mr. Wills became familiar with the views of those in favour of designation, he decided to conduct research to develop his own point of view.
"I Googled (conducted an Internet search) 'LACAC,' and 'heritage designation' - terms I knew in my head but didn't necessarily understand and. I found the names of people I could contact," he said.
Mr. Wills' site contains information he gathered regarding alterations to designated properties, fines, guidelines and the role of municipal staff in the post-designation process.
"I was determined to speak to every municipality that had a district, and then I painted my pillars purple," he said. "I used purple... to show how doing something extreme would affect the appearance of the neighbourhood."
He said the colour is causing people to stop to read the sign on his property that offers a brief overview of what he discovered in his research and directs people to his Web site.
Rick James, one of the more vocal neighbourhood residents against heritage designation, said he knows about purplepillars.com, but wasn't impressed by the effort.
"I looked at it and moved on, considering that we've been assured colour will never be an issue," said Mr. James. "It seems to some people it is. The question is, am I going to let someone who is willing to deface their property tell me what I'm allowed to do to my home? Frankly, I'm getting tired of the whole thing."
Mr. Wills agreed that for his own home, he will impose strict rules for paint colour and materials used in maintenance, but he said that what he wants isn't necessarily good for others in the neighbourhood. Even so, he doesn't want the designation issue to die.
"In the future, how do you control major construction in your neighbourhood?" he asked. "We need to be concerned with new construction and demolition."
Mr. James said there are so few people driving the heritage district designation forward, that the effort seems like a waste of time.
"The end result seems predictable. We're going to have around 140 people against it, and a handful of people for it," said Mr. James. "They (the Municipality) would be further ahead to come up with ideas that suit everybody."
Mr. Wills said he followed up with the municipalities he contacted for information to tell them of his Web page, and some have created a link to his site. The Old Bowmanville Neighbourhood Association also has a link.
"Heritage Toronto has asked me for a report they can use at a symposium in the New Year, and the University of Waterloo has asked me to write an article for their newsletter," said Mr. Wills.
As for the fate of the purple pillars, Mr. Wills said he will paint them cream at the end of July.
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