City officials say they’ve laid charges under the Ontario Heritage and Building Code acts in last month’s controversial demolition of a heritage-listed barn in Byron.
The old red barn at 247 Halls Mill Rd, which dated back to the late 1800s, was reduced to rubble on Jan. 30, just days after councillors voted to give it heritage designation.
On Friday, the city’s chief municipal law enforcement officer announced charges have been laid against the property owner following a full investigation.
It’s alleged the owners didn’t have required permits to demolish the building, and did not comply with the Building Code of Ontario Heritage Act.
“The investigation involved a number of different city departments because this was a heritage-listed property,” chief municipal law enforcement officer Orest Katolyk told Global News.
“We take these occurrences very seriously. Specifically, city council wants to preserve heritage attributes in the city, and that’s why we had a multi-departmental investigation occurring on this demolition and why charges were laid under various legislations.”
The charges have yet to be proven in court.
— with files from Global News Radio 980 CFPL’s Matthew Trevithick.