Renovation work on the Ross-Struthers House on Riverside Drive will be able to stay.
The heritage property near Rankin Avenue underwent some work without the city's consent, resulting in the Heritage Committee recommending the work be reversed — but council has gone against that recommendation.
Fabio Costante is the councillor for the ward and says the owner worked with administration to meet a number of requirements and, while it's not the ideal situation, improvements done to the exterior of the home will not have to be torn down.
Costante says this is in no way setting a precedent for other heritage property owners.
"The decision was not unreasonable. It was a reasonable call, but I don't see it as a signal to the community that you can do whatever you want. In fact, I think the applicants would argue that they had to expend a lot of resources and dollars to get to where we are today and that they wouldn't wish that on anybody."
Costante says the Heritage Act isn't always black and white.
"There's a lot of grey area for interpretation and looking at material alterations loosely," he says. "So there's always room for some kind of discretion as long as, on balance, it's conforming to the heritage integrity and structure, at the end of the day council has the ultimate say."
Costante says, when you boil it down, the home looks much better now than it did in the past.
"You want to maintain the structural integrity and the aesthetic integrity, but it doesn't mean that it's exactly the same. That's a point that I think is important, that there is a bit of an evolution, but that evolution can't be so significant that it takes away from the heritage integrity of the property."
Council was split on the matter voting 6-4 in favour of allowing the renovations to stay.
The Ross-Struthers House at 2161 Riverside Dr. W. was built in 1906.