Live in a designated heritage home or inside a Heritage Conservation District in the City of St. Catharines? You may need a heritage permit before making changes to your property, including:
- Alterations
- Additions
- New dwellings
- New outbuildings (such as garages)
- Demolitions
Applying for a permit
Please submit your completed Heritage Permit Application to our Planning and Building Services Department. Make sure to include all required fees with your application. You can submit your application in person at the Planning and Building Services Department at City Hall or by email to the City's Heritage Planner. Applications and fees can also be submitted after hours at the James Street drop box. Do not place cash in the drop box.
You can mail your application and a cheque to pay the fees to:
City of St. Catharines, Planning and Building Services
PO Box 3012
50 Church St.
St. Catharines, ON L2R 7C2
Before you start
We encourage you to meet with our Heritage Planning staff before submitting your application to make sure that you're on the right track from the beginning and to avoid any unnecessary delays or fees. If you're doing routine maintenance or making interior changes to a building on your property, you rarely need to apply for a heritage permit, though it is best to confirm with the City's Heritage Planner. You can download and review our Submission Guidelines for Heritage Permit Applications for more information.
Our process
Applications fall under three different processes depending on the work proposed.
- To help improve customer service and minimize wait times for heritage permits, the Director of Planning and Building Services has been delegated authority to approve certain alterations to properties without the requirement of attending a Heritage Advisory Committee meeting. These alterations will be deemed by staff to have no impact on the cultural heritage value of a property. In the case of properties within a heritage district, the proposed work will have been determined to be consistent with the District Plan and Guidelines. The City's Heritage Planner will determine if an application requires further review from the Heritage Advisory Committee. For more information about applications that do not require attending a Heritage Advisory Committee meeting, please see the Submission Guidelines for Heritage Permit Applications.
- For applications where alterations will affect heritage attributes or involve significant changes to a property (such as the construction of an addition, removal of a portion of a building, significant alterations or changes that may not be consistent with the District Plan and Guidelines), the Heritage Advisory Committee will review your application and will make a recommendation to staff. The Director of Planning and Building Services has been delegated authority to approve or deny applications once heard by the Heritage Advisory Committee. Please note that the Heritage Advisory Committee meets monthly, typically on the last Thursday of every month.
- If you are proposing a demolition, the application will be heard by the Heritage Advisory Committee, who will make a recommendation to City Council. Demolition applications can only be approved/denied by Council. As part of this process, staff will write a report to Council about the application, and depending on the application, the applicant may present their application to Council as a delegate.