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3 · Thursday, February 25, 2010 OAKVILLE BEAVER · www.oakvillebeaver.com Council laments loss of more local heritage Continued from page 1 This gives the Town the opportunity to either designate the property under the Ontario Heritage Act or allow the demolition to take place. Tony Sandu, the president of J.K. Films Inc., and owner of the home for the past two years, stated that, at this point, demolition is a matter of public safety. "I've gotten a letter from my (insurance company) stating that there is a safety hazard because the walls that are still standing are unsafe," he said. "There is a fence around it, but still anyone could jump that and go in there so it is a safety hazard and my request is to get a demolition permit." Sandu went on to say the destruction of the historic home has been a great tragedy for all who were connected to it, especially for the Bertins who were leasing the home from Sandu at the time of the fire, but had lived in the home since 1970 and raised their family there. Sandu also said he had been planning to move into the home at some ilar to the Bertin Stables homestead. When asked by Ward 4 Councillor Allan Elgar about the cause of the fire, he stated the Fire Marshal had not been able to give him an answer. Ward 5 Councillor Jeff Knoll echoed the mayor's concern over loss of heritage properties and noted other properties in north Oakville that have been lost in fires. "Appelbe House, Kaitting House and now Bertin Stables," he said. In the end, due to the safety concern, particularly with a large number of children still attending the riding school on the site, council voted to pass a motion removing Bertin Stables from the Oakville Register of Properties of Cultural Heritage Value or Interest and thereby permit its demolition. A motion was also passed requesting the owners to provide Heritage Planning staff with inforOAKVILLE BEAVER FILE PHOTO GRAHAM PAINE / OAKVILLE BEAVER mation regarding the history of INFERNO: The former Bertin Stables homestead went up in flames last December. The century-old home has been the property while another motion owned for the last two years by Tony Sandu, president of J.K. Films Inc., but leased to the Bertins. The home's damaged was passed requesting the owners shell will now be torn down. make the home's remaining materials available for salvage. time in the future. When asked by what he was planning to do with the another home there and that he Sandu said he had no problem Ward 2 Councillor Cathy Duddeck site, Sandu said he planned to build would try to keep it structurally sim- with these additional motions.