A Living Museum

Jan 2010

February 2010

By Doreen Marion Gee 

Preservation is about deciding what's important, figuring out how to protect it, and passing along an appreciation for what was saved to the next generation. Preservation is hands-on. This quote from the History and Culture section of the US National Parks service aptly describes the present actions by the City of Victoria to protect Beacon Hill Park. Our glorious park now has "Heritage Designation", enshrining its history and beauty in perpetuity. Its new status provides legal protection and ensures an informed and transparent process for any changes considered for our local treasure. Real protection of a precious resource lies in having both strict criteria for preservation and strict criteria for change. By respecting the heritage values of Beacon Hill Park, this protection is now ensured.

On November 5, 2009, Beacon Hill Park was designated as a "Municipal Heritage Site" by the City of Victoria to ensure that its unique characteristics are preserved.  It was a well - supported and unanimous decision by city council. According to Pam Madoff, the heritage designation only applies to any physical changes to the natural landscape and not the day-to-day operations of the park. According to Helen Cain, City Heritage Planner, this new formal recognition means that Beacon Hill Park is now legally protected for the future. Its preservation as a natural and created landscape is assured. This heritage designation makes it mandatory for any application for change to go to an automatic review process and will be fully scrutinized according to a very comprehensive list of heritage values. This guarantees a transparent and informed process that starts with the Heritage Program staff in the City Planning and Development Department, educates council members and ends up with council sessions where the public can have their say. There are now a set of unique heritage values for every area of the park that have to be upheld and honoured with any consideration for change. Any application will be approved or denied based on its impact on the heritage values of that area. Madoff is very excited about this new development because it results in a fully informed council and public. These heritage values also underscore the continued preservation of the park and any enhancements and repairs.

The 2004 Heritage Landscape Management Plan for Beacon Hill Park by Commonwealth Historic Resource Management Limited is the foundation for the new status. City Hall adopted its recommendation that our park be designated as a heritage site. The Plan emphasizes the considerable heritage value of Beacon Hill Park and stipulates that "The 'protection' of the park's principal heritage resources has been established as policy: The human and natural resources shall be protected." One example of its specific policies is the stipulation that the percentage of natural landscapes not be diminished over time. Within the Plan are ratings of various park areas. For example: "Natural and ornamental heritage landscapes with very high cultural significance will be preserved and protected." The authors divide Beacon Hill Park into ten sectors, each with its unique landforms, usage and features. Every section is assessed for its unique and specific heritage values. Any application for alteration of the landscape will be assessed by how they impact those values.

City council made its final decision based on an October 8, 2009 Planning Report prepared by Steve Barber, Senior Heritage Planner for the City. Barber writes an eloquent account of the historic value of Beacon Hill Park and recommends its new heritage status because it provides "an appropriate level of protection and recognition" and "a mechanism for heritage values to be considered in future changes to the park." In his Statement of Significance, he appraises the important heritage values of the Park by referring to its First Nations past, its strategic defensive history and he talks passionately about its heritage value as both a designed and natural landscape: "It has value in the way in which Blair reworked the found landscape to achieve picturesque and romantic aesthetic ends, and to balance original landscape features with introduced and ornamental materials."

We now have a heritage designation to protect our world-renowned urban oasis. This involves maintaining its historical and green values but equally important, it means managing any changes. The Heritage Landscape Management Plan sums up the value of Beacon Hill Park: "A living museum."