The City of St. John’s wants to beef up its heritage bylaw to protect historic buildings—like the one about to be demolished.

The Cathedral Parish Hall on Queen’s Road has been sold to a developer who will replace it with three brick townhouses. The city has all but approved the project noting there’s little if any, heritage value left to the building.

Councillor Sandy Hickman says that might not be the case if the city had stricter rules in decades past.

He says it’s too bad the city didn’t have tougher bylaws in the ’40s, ’50s, and ’60s when decisions were made that led to the loss of many historic structures. That said, Hickman says he toured the Cathedral Parish Hall and agrees it’s not very nice but will be replaced by something that is.

As for the stronger heritage bylaw, the city is advertising the draft document for public review and comment.

Virtual public sessions are tentatively set for April 27 and 28.