Do Heritage Conservation Districts Work?

This article deals with the question if Heritage Conservation Districts (HCDs) work in Canada and works to disapprove individuals\’ negative perceptions that being part of a HCD restricts property rights and decreases their property values. By reviewing past studies both in the US and Canada, it was clear that HCDs lead to increase in property values. The study chose to focus on Upper Doon Village in Kitchener which was made a HCD in November of 1988. The study aimed to answer 5 main questions to determine if the Upper Doon Village HCD was working. Those questions were: \• Do residents know about HCDs and how they work? \• Has it been possible for them to make changes and how long it that take? \• Did residents want their neighbourhood to be a HCD in the first place and how do they feel about the designation status now? \• Has there been any impacts on property values? \• Has the area realized the goals set out in the original plan? The study used door-to-door surveys of residents, building alternation data from the City of Kitchener and property value trends from both the district and city calculated using land registry and sales records. Overall the study found that residents understood they lived in a HCD and generally how it worked, plans to alter their properties practically always been approved in a timely manner, and that the property values were impacted positively at a rate greater than the city average. The study done in the article is a successful case study that can be used by other municipalities to show how HCDs can work and even what can be improved upon in terms of regulations for even greater success.