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Survey, Places of Interest List (POIL), Inventory, and Registry
When talking about older properties, physical sites tied to historic events, or those informal stories of the past told over coffee at the dinner table, there’s a lot of terminology that crops up and can be confusing. We don’t want formal terminology and confusing legislation to discourage anyone from supporting Lacombe’s heritage.
On this page, you’ll find a straightforward explanation of the four lists that are used in documenting, monitoring, and preserving historic elements of Lacombe.
There are four core lists that document historic places. The following paragraphs provide brief explanations, and further information is available lower on the page.
In thinking about how each list relates to the others, keep in mind the ranking of Survey < POIL < Inventory < Registry where properties on the Registry have received the highest level of investigation and protection.
Municipal Heritage Survey
The Survey, which was compiled first in 2010 and updated in 2023, is a list of buildings older than 50 years within City boundaries.
Municipal Heritage Places of Interest List (POIL)
The Places of Interest List documents buildings that are potentially of interest. They may have historical significance and integrity, but full research hasn’t been carried out. While notes are taken about each property on the POIL, specific character-defining features have not been documented.
Municipal Heritage Inventory
The Inventory is made up of buildings first recorded in the POIL that have been subject to full historical investigation. Each property on the Inventory has a Statement of Significance (SOS) attached to it. This document outlines the building’s significance to the community, provides a summary of its history (with details such as who built it and any significant changes or renovation that occurred), and lists its character-defining features.
Municipal Heritage Registry
The Registry is the list of sites in Lacombe that have been designated as a Municipal Historic Resource via a Bylaw passed by City Council. These buildings are protected from demolition, and the character-defining elements outlined in the SOS cannot be altered. Designated buildings are eligible for municipal, and sometimes provincial, grants for maintenance and conservation work done to the building’s character-defining elements.
Full details can be read on the designation process page.
Municipal Heritage Survey Details
The current form of the survey was first compiled in 2010 and documented in the 2010 Municipal Heritage Survey (PDF) and recently updated in 2023. This now updated list provides a baseline for the investigation of historic places within City boundaries. The 2023 update includes a windshield survey of existing POIL sites as well as documentation of demolished sites alongside an analysis of historic retention rates in Lacombe.
The first level of data is a spreadsheet of all buildings 50+ years old (pre-1971) which lists name, site type, address, and supplemental location information. A separate list of properties built between 1972 and 1981 was also compiled as a basic list addresses.
As of the 2023 update, the Survey includes 555 sites, of which 326 are active.
Places of Interest List Details
From the survey comes the Places of Interest List (POIL), which is created through community feedback and research of the most significant heritage resources in the community.
Lacombe’s POIL currently has 115 sites, but this list should always be viewed as a living document where new properties can be added and others removed for various reasons.
Lacombe is fortunate to have a robustly researched and published POIL as often this level of work is not available in a public document.
Municipal Heritage Inventory Details
The Inventory further explores the history and heritage value of sites included in the POIL. This was done in cooperation with each site’s owner as participation was voluntary. 55 sites were added to the Inventory in 2012 with 15 additional sites added int the 2022 update.
The Inventory represents some of the most significant historic sites in Lacombe, with each being documented through a Statement of Significance (SOS). The SOS is an official document for recording the heritage value of a site not only in Lacombe’s Inventory but also in the Canadian Register of Historic Places and the Alberta Register of Historic Places. Each SoS contains:
- A Statement of Integrity,
- A brief description of the historic place,
- An identification of the key heritage values assigned to the historic place based on the Thematic Framework for the City of Lacombe, and
- A list of associated Character Defining Elements – the principal materials or elements that can be attributed to the value(s) of the resource.
Updates to the Survey and Inventory
While the Heritage Management Plan recommends annual updates, it has been found that such frequent updating is inefficient. Updates to the Survey and Inventory were completed in 2022/23, and it is anticipated that further updates are carried out at either the 5- or 10-year interval.
Currently there is no formal process in place for individual site owners to add a property or other type of site to either list, but we encourage property owners with questions to reach out. Sites on the POIL can have a SoS developed on a case by case basis if none currently exists.