Communities Don’t Include People

Some people like their idea of their community but don’t like to deal with actual people.  One such person is Elizabeth Brown – a Toronto woman who doesn’t want her new neighbors to build a new house.

Such feelings are natural enough, of course – anyone who lives on a street for 15 years, like Ms. Brown, is liable to become attached to the buildings on her street.  But this case is a bit different.  The new neighbors, Geoff and Melissa Teehan, want to replace the old house for a very legitimate reason: Melissa is disabled, and the couple hopes to build a new house with ramps, an elevator, low cupboards, etc. that will allow her to get around to the best of her ability.

Ms. Brown heard about their plans (Geoff had been blogging about their house online) and decided that she did not want to look out her window at a new, modern-looking house, regardless of her neighbors’ reasoning.  So she contacted the city council and asked to have the property declared as a “heritage property,” thereby putting severe restrictions on what can be done to the house.

As you might suspect, Brown didn’t bother to contact the Teehan’s before filing this request.  When the Teehan’s first bought the house, it did not have official “heritage property” status, but apparently the city is very lax in designating heritage areas, so Ms. Brown’s appeal will be considered and the city may attempt to halt the property changes.

The Teehan’s surprise and subsequent frustration are understandable.  From The Toronto Star (click here to read the full article; h/t Reason):

The Teehans have trouble believing, finally, that they even have staunch opponents. “I am shocked,” Geoff Teehan says, “that the facade of a home is more important than the needs of a family. Communities are made of people. They’re not made of houses.” Says Melissa, calmer: “It just saddens me. We just want our lives back. We’re not trying to upset anyone. We just want to live our lives.”

I’m very fond of old buildings and historical communities, but the Teehan’s are in the right here.  If indeed their house did not have “heritage” status when they bought it, they should be free to renovate it now.  Even if the city has the “legal right” to label the house as a heritage property, it would be a great injustice to impose that decision on the Teehan’s after they bought this home with the intention of remodeling it to meet Melissa’s needs.

Communities are indeed made up of people – some people would just rather not think about that.