The Editor
Re: "Heritage is pricey" (Opinion, The Tri-City News, March 30).
Yes, it can cost a lot of money to upgrade a house, whether it is a heritage house or a 40-year-old bungalow. But guess what? Many people do it. They spend the money and tolerate the inconvenience. They don't do it to get "a plaque but little else," as The Tri-City News' editorial states. They do it because they consider it worthwhile for myriad reasons.
We know of no statistics showing that heritage homes, designated or not, are harder or easier to sell than any other; there seems to be plenty of demand in this area for homes of all types.
If your readers want to know the facts about heritage designations, municipal heritage registers, BC Building Code relaxations (yes!) and grants towards upgrading designated heritage homes, they should go to the sources. These include the cities of Port Coquitlam, Port Moody and Coquitlam, which all have dedicated heritage pages on their websites. Many municipalities also have heritage planners on staff.
As well, the B.C. Ministry of Tourism, Trade and Investment publishes a wealth of information at www.tti.gov.bc.ca/heritage and there are dozens of heritage-related organizations such as ours that can assist anyone who wants to know the facts.
As with anything, whether it's heritage or politics, people should make their decisions based on facts and their own research.
Pippa Van Velzen, President, Port Coquitlam Heritage and Cultural Society
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