The town council finally voted to approve our request to de-designate the church. This path was exhausting and often felt impossible but your persistence forced them to listen to our reality. We can finally breathe now that we are no longer burdened by these unrealistic heritage requirements.
July 26, 2018
Final supporters
CAUTION: IF YOU HAVE SIGNED THE PAPER VERSION OF THE PETITION, OR PLAN ON SIGNING IT, PLEASE DO NOT SIGN THIS ONLINE VERSION.
PETITION
Saint Arsenije Sremac Serbian Orthodox Church
508 Byron Street South
Whitby, ON, L1N 4R3
We, the undersigned Members, Parishioners and/or Friends of Saint Arsenije Serbian Orthodox Church, in Whitby, Ontario, HEREBY PETITION the Corporation of the Town of Whitby and its Town Council, as follows:
1. To de-designate the Church building as a heritage property (a repeal of Bylaw 3790-96), and
2. To have the Church building exempted from the provisions of Whitby Bylaw 7297-17 (Werden’s Plan Neighbourhood Heritage Conservation District and Plan).
We appreciate that the Church's requests are dramatic in nature. The Members and Parishioners of the Church would much rather repair the property standards problems in accordance with the Bylaws and in accordance with conservation standards. However, the financial means of the Church are extremely limited (as it does not have a very large congregation) and the costs associated with repairing the Church according to conservation standards are extremely high and not realistically within the short-term and medium-term financial wherewithal of the Church and its congregation.
We sincerely hope that you take our requests, and this petition, into serious consideration. We thank you for your understanding, time, effort and attention in this matter.
Updates
May 22, 2018
The weight of the last few weeks has been heavy on all of us but seeing this momentum lightens the burden just a little. It is exhausting to fight these battles for our church yet knowing so many people see our struggle keeps me moving forward.
Reached 100 supporters
May 22, 2018
6 Comments
Heritage designations are killing small parishes. Whitby needs to look at the reality here. Let the people fix their building.
Just let them fix it up normally so the building stays standing. Too much red tape!
This church is falling apart and we dont have the money to fix it the way the town wants. Stop making our lives harder and let us get the work done affordable.
My family has been going here for years. It breaks my heart to see the state of the building but we literally cannot afford these heritage requirements. Please help.
Ridiculous. We just want a safe place to pray without these insane repair costs hanging over our heads.
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The town council finally voted to approve our request to de-designate the church. This path was exhausting and often felt impossible but your persistence forced them to listen to our reality. We can finally breathe now that we are no longer burdened by these unrealistic heritage requirements.
July 26, 2018
Final supporters
CAUTION: IF YOU HAVE SIGNED THE PAPER VERSION OF THE PETITION, OR PLAN ON SIGNING IT, PLEASE DO NOT SIGN THIS ONLINE VERSION.
PETITION
Saint Arsenije Sremac Serbian Orthodox Church
508 Byron Street South
Whitby, ON, L1N 4R3
We, the undersigned Members, Parishioners and/or Friends of Saint Arsenije Serbian Orthodox Church, in Whitby, Ontario, HEREBY PETITION the Corporation of the Town of Whitby and its Town Council, as follows:
1. To de-designate the Church building as a heritage property (a repeal of Bylaw 3790-96), and
2. To have the Church building exempted from the provisions of Whitby Bylaw 7297-17 (Werden’s Plan Neighbourhood Heritage Conservation District and Plan).
We appreciate that the Church's requests are dramatic in nature. The Members and Parishioners of the Church would much rather repair the property standards problems in accordance with the Bylaws and in accordance with conservation standards. However, the financial means of the Church are extremely limited (as it does not have a very large congregation) and the costs associated with repairing the Church according to conservation standards are extremely high and not realistically within the short-term and medium-term financial wherewithal of the Church and its congregation.
We sincerely hope that you take our requests, and this petition, into serious consideration. We thank you for your understanding, time, effort and attention in this matter.
Updates
May 22, 2018
The weight of the last few weeks has been heavy on all of us but seeing this momentum lightens the burden just a little. It is exhausting to fight these battles for our church yet knowing so many people see our struggle keeps me moving forward.
Reached 100 supporters
May 22, 2018
6 Comments
Total nonsense. The town is prioritizing rules over the actual community members who use the building every week.
Heritage designations are killing small parishes. Whitby needs to look at the reality here. Let the people fix their building.
Just let them fix it up normally so the building stays standing. Too much red tape!
This church is falling apart and we dont have the money to fix it the way the town wants. Stop making our lives harder and let us get the work done affordable.
My family has been going here for years. It breaks my heart to see the state of the building but we literally cannot afford these heritage requirements. Please help.
Ridiculous. We just want a safe place to pray without these insane repair costs hanging over our heads.
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Total nonsense. The town is prioritizing rules over the actual community members who use the building every week.