“I thought it was a joke.  I mean they think the 1996 is a heritage house?  Because that’s when the house was built,” explained Heather Bracey.
Bracey said she was renovating the house when there was a serious fire that forced her to rebuild the house and renovate it from the ground up.
“I’ve done three years of extensive renovations with all the top quality products, custom doors, custom everything,” Bracey said.
While rebuilding her home, she decided to give it a fresh new look unlike her neighbors and said she had no idea it was in one of Markham’s four designated heritage zones and any changes would have to be pre-approved by the city.
Heather Bracey said she didn’t know her house was in a cultural district in Markham when she rebuilt it after it burned down in February 2020. 
After her home was completed, Bracey received an “Instruction to Comply” notice from the City of Markham that stated, “Roof selection, window specifications, garage door selection, and brick selection are to be reviewed and approved by the city (Department of Heritage) staff through the heritage licensing process prior to ordering and installation.”
Bracey said she is being told she now has to alter her house to comply with heritage guidelines and is frustrated and stressed by the whole process.
“The front door needs to be replaced, the garage door and the windows and the veneer, the brick veneer all over the house,” he said.
Bracey said she has no idea how much the changes will cost and believes the city should have done more to let her know she was in a heritage zone before completing the rebuild.
“I feel like the city should have made an effort to let me know before the house was built, before the bricks were laid or when I picked out the windows,” Bracey said.
When CTV News Toronto contacted the City of Markham, a spokesperson said, “The City of Markham highly values ​​its heritage areas and ensures that residents are aware of the obligations associated with properties within heritage areas to ensure the continued keep”.
“The City of Markham worked closely with the owner after the unfortunate fire that destroyed the original home.  City of Markham staff made every effort to expedite the building permit to ensure the owner had a safe place to live.”
“In doing so, it was made clear in the approved planning permission plans that heritage requirements also had to be met in order to receive a heritage permit.  This includes dealing with items such as roof selection, window specifications, garage door selection and brick selection prior to ordering and installation.”
“Failure to recognize these requirements is a matter between the owner and their consultant.  The City of Markham sympathizes with the owner and continues to work toward a reasonable outcome that respects the cultural nature of the area.”
Bracey said Markham should allow her to leave her home as is or pay for the required modifications.
“They can do it themselves.  Put whatever windows wants in there.  Put whatever doors they want in and take the bricks out and put whatever color they want,” Bracey said.
A “century house” is at least 100 years old, but a house can be designated a “heritage house” for many reasons.  If you buy one, it means you may not be able to change its appearance or add to it without permission from the municipality where you live.