Saint John heritage advocate asks for removal of heritage designation from property

A long-time advocate for the protection of historic buildings in Saint John, N.B., made a curious move this week, when he asked for one of his buildings to be removed from a designated heritage zone in the city.

Jim Bezanson became the owner of a 19th-century building in the city’s uptown back in 1998. He’s now trying to build an addition to the brick structure, located on the corner of Sydney and Princess streets, but says it has been a real headache to get the project going.

Bezanson says what began as an $8-million project has been scaled down to around $5 million in order to fulfil what the Saint John Heritage Development Board wanted for its approval.

“It’s not the building that I started out to do,” he says.

Bezanson says bylaw changes have led to multiple delays and time is running out on his permit to build.

"I've spent so far, to date, $500,000 in fees,” he says. “The problem isn't with council, the problem is with the bureaucracy that’s allowed this thing to go off the rails.”

On Monday night, Bezanson went to Saint John city hall asking councillors for permission to remove his property from the city’s designated uptown heritage conservation area.

Bezanson says he struggled with the decision to make such a request but felt he had no other choice in order to move the project ahead.

Members of city council were surprised as well.

“To have Jim Bezanson ask for something to be de-designated is unique and interesting,” says Coun. Gary Sullivan.

City staff and the Saint John Heritage Development Board asked for the proposal to be denied, saying it would weaken the strength of heritage bylaws around the city.

In the end, city councillors denied Bezanson’s request, but several spoke up to say how puzzled they were about the development being in jeopardy.

"I mean, we're all hoping that Jim builds it," says Coun. Brent Harris.

"I think there's a lesson learned here for us that perhaps there needs to be just some parallel on-ramps here for heritage permitting, alignment with our one-stop-shop for development. Just so that gets streamlined and there are some allowances for some of these broader-scale projects," says Harris.

No one from city staff or the Heritage Development Board would agree to an interview on the situation.

Bezanson served as a city heritage officer for 24 years and garnered several international awards for his work. He’s also courted controversy, including his objections to construction of the uptown Saint John’s Irving Oil headquarters in 2016.

Bezanson says he remains focused on finishing the planned additions to his uptown property and working with city hall to get the job done.