Can a property owner apply to have their own heritage designation removed in Ontario?

Yes, an owner can generally request that a municipality repeal a designating bylaw, though the decision to actually remove the designation rests with municipal council, not the owner unilaterally, and council isn't obligated to grant the request simply because the owner wants it. The municipality would typically evaluate whether the property's heritage attributes still genuinely warrant protection, and its own planning and heritage staff, and often a heritage advisory committee, would generally weigh in before council makes a decision.

Because designation was originally meant to protect attributes the municipality identified as having real cultural heritage value, council will generally want a substantive reason for removing that protection, such as a genuine loss of the original heritage attributes over time, rather than simply an owner's changed preference or a desire to redevelop more freely. If council refuses the request, the owner's options are more limited than in a fresh designation dispute, since this is the owner asking the municipality to change its own prior decision rather than objecting to a new one. An owner seriously considering this route should get legal and heritage-planning advice on the realistic likelihood of success before investing significant effort in the application.