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| To illustrate the column I photographed the house at the corner of West 33rd and Arbutus which my wife and I owned from 1982 to 1990. When we sold it we hoped it wouldn't be knocked down and are delighted to see it has been well maintained in subsequent years. |
Last
week, the City of Vancouver announced a series of public consultation events to
explore options for retaining character or heritage homes in single-family (RS
zoned) areas of Vancouver.
Related
- Conserving heritage subject of City of Vancouver open houses
- New homes a shadow of what they could be
- City’s handling of Shaughnessy heritage cause for concern
If this
sounds familiar, it might be because Courier reporter Naoibh O’Connor
reported on a similar city initiative in February 2015: “Conserving heritage subject of City of
Vancouver open houses.”
According
to the city press release, the latest review will consider zoning changes in
several neighbourhoods with higher concentrations of character homes including
West Point Grey and Upper Kitsilano, Dunbar, Kerrisdale, Second and
Third Shaughnessy, and parts of Arbutus Ridge.
Character
homes are those built before 1940 and not necessarily on the city’s Heritage
Register. However, they are deemed to have merit in accordance with a
"Character Checklist" set out in a June 2014 Planning Department
bulletin.
In
addition to exploring zoning options to encourage retention of character
houses, the city will also be looking at zoning changes to improve how new
houses fit into established neighbourhoods.
I support
city initiatives to conserve heritage and character houses. As I mentioned in a
2014 column entitled, “New homes a shadow of what they could
be.”
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| The Vinson House Cottages development in West Vancouver. A partnership between Trasolini Chetner and my company. |
I’m
currently conserving a century-old house on a large lot in West Vancouver, in
return for approvals to build a coach house, garden cottage and garden suite on
the property. Not only
will this project retain one of West Vancouver’s original houses, it will
create new housing choices for nearby residents ready to downsize and remain in
their neighbourhood.
Vancouver
wants to do the same thing with pre-1940s homes. However, as I wrote at the
time of the Shaughnessy Heritage Conservation Area zoning changes, just because
a house was built before 1940 does not mean it necessarily merits protection
and conservation. (See: “City’s handling of Shaughnessy heritage
cause for concern”)
Therefore,
as part of any heritage program, there needs to be a clearly defined and
accessible appeal process. This became apparent in a letter I received last
week from a Dunbar resident who was hoping to build her dream home on a large
60-foot-by-130-foot lot. After
hiring an architect, she discovered the city has assessed her 1930 house as
having “character merit.”
Consequently, she can only apply for an
‘outright’ permit for a new house not to exceed 2600 sq. ft. over two floors. Although
a “conditional” application would allow a larger home, she cannot apply unless
she is prepared to retain the existing house. She claims this would basically
mean a big and expensive renovation on a house that is falling apart.
She
approached the city with additional information and explained that many of the
supposed “character” features are foam elements that she glued to the walls,
but to no avail.
While she
wanted to know if I could identify an appeal process, unfortunately, she may be
out of luck.
Instead
of using a zoning stick, I believe the city should be offering zoning carrots
to those prepared to keep a character house. One
carrot would be to allow the development of an infill coach house for sale on
the property. Its size would be determined based on the size of the lot and
area of the character house, combined with a modest density bonus.
If a
character house is to be retained on a corner property, the city might permit a
subdivision to create two smaller lots.
In some
situations, it might be feasible to allow a single-level suite for sale under a
character house. In others, a larger home could be converted into a duplex or
triplex, with each unit offered for sale or rent.
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| The first of the 4 open houses was held last Monday, but after this column was filed. |
If you
have your own ideas on what the city should be doing to retain and conserve
character houses, four open houses are being held over the coming weeks. Times
and places, and an online survey can be found vancouver.ca
Recommendations
from the Character Home Zoning Review are expected to be presented to Council
in early 2017, followed by additional public consultation before any zoning
changes are made.
Since
February 2015, many lovely character homes have vanished on the west side of
Vancouver. Hopefully, this time city hall will follow through with zoning
changes, along with a fair appeal process.
The
result will be many character houses conserved for decades to come, and new
neighbourhood housing choices.
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