Creating a New Heritage Plan

A collage of four images showing heritage homes and heritage buildings in the City of St. John's. Two photos are black and white and show a fire station and the war memorial. The other two photos are in colour and show a row of houses and a hotel.

Residents are invited to provide input into the development of the City of St. John’s new Heritage Plan which will guide the city in managing, maintaining, and protecting our heritage resources in the future. The plan will align with the Envision St. John’s Municipal Plan and the Heritage By-Law.

“I encourage all residents of St. John’s to get engaged and help inform our heritage plan, which will set out goals and objectives for preserving heritage for the next 10 years,” said Councillor Maggie Burton, lead Councillor for Heritage. “We know that our residents are passionate about heritage and preservation, and we are inviting everyone to help shape our vision as we work to establish objectives and action items of the plan, before it is formally presented to Council for adoption.”

While 70% of residents rate the importance of heritage an 8 or higher out of 10 in the City’s biennial Resident Satisfaction Survey, only 39% rate their satisfaction with heritage as an 8 or higher.

The Heritage Plan will look beyond built heritage. It will also consider things such as our city’s cultural heritage and landscapes, festivals, historic events, stories/oral traditions, place names, and public art.

The goals of the Heritage Plan include:

Protecting built heritage and recognizing cultural landscapes
Working toward reconciliation with Indigenous residents
Identifying ways to celebrate our history and the array of cultures in St. John’s
Reviewing the Heritage Financial Incentives Program
Enhancing accessibility of our heritage, both online and physical forms

Get engaged and provide your input

Visit EngageStJohns.ca to join the discussion and help shape the new Heritage Plan.

Attend a virtual or in person public engagement session:

In person – Wednesday, March 8 at 7 p.m. in the Foran Greene Room, Fourth Floor, City Hall, register here
Virtual – Tuesday, March 14 at 7 p.m. register here

If you are unable to attend the information sessions, email your comments to engage@stjohns.ca.

In addition to the engagement opportunities for the public, staff will be reaching out to consult directly with key stakeholders, City committees and those with a shared interest in heritage.