UPDATE: This heritage designation item was "pulled from the agenda by administration" -- it's not clear when/if the issue will return to CK Council
Chatham-Kent councillors will have a very contentious issue before them on Monday night.
The heritage committee is recommending the North Buxton Community Church be designated as a heritage property. The committee and the church's congregation want the church at 21991 A. D. Shadd Road in Raleigh to be conserved because of its cultural heritage value or interest.
The church is associated with a historically important religious movement that was unique to the early black settlements of Canada; it has many historically significant figures associated with it; the cemetery documents the chronology of the Buxton settlement and provides an important record of the settlement’s earliest residents, many of whom were refugees from slavery; and, it is recognized as an important feature in the Parks Canada National Historic Site designation because it still has a functioning church, cemetery, and hall for the community.
However, the property is owned by the British Methodist Episcopal (BME) Church, who has not responded to several emailed requests for comment by the municipality. That's important to note because the BME is still in a legal dispute with congregation members at North Buxton Community Church over who should have control of the property.
A judge recently ruled that the congregation cannot be evicted from the church and cemetery that they have ancestral ties to it until the legal fight over ownership of the property is resolved.
"The Committee’s advice is being received by Council, through Administration, as an Information Report with no recommendation. This approach is based on Council’s precedent that decisions to designate property be initiated and/or supported by the owner(s) of the property under consideration," states the report going to council. "Council should be made aware that it is not a legislated requirement under the Act that an owner of a property initiate the designation process. Rather, it is entirely at the discretion of Council."
Shannon Prince of the Buxton National Historical Site and Museum is reserving comments until after the council meeting on Monday night.
Council has the option of not proceeding with the heritage designation at this time or can approve the designation in the future if there are no objections. Objections can be filed with the Conservation Review Board before council makes the final decision.
The church was built in 1867 and has undergone some renovations over the years but the exterior remains much the same as it was originally.