WEDNESDAY, JUNE 29, 2016
What’s inside:
NEWS: Daycare providers and customers jump through city hoops 4
n The Wolff House, a tall, narrow, two-storey home built in 1898 in the Queen Anne style, has been leveled by a developer to make way for new homes. The house was listed on the city`s heritage “inventory,” and considered to be in good condition. Unlike the heritage “registry,” the inventory provides no legal protections. Left photo by City of Richmond; Right photo by Graeme Wood/Richmond News
Queen Anne falls to developer Heritage inventory a ‘hollow process’ if sites not protected: Erceg GRAEMEWOOD Staff Reporter
GWOOD@RICHMOND-NEWS.COM
I
t was considered historically significant and a rare example of preserved heritage in Steveston from the turn of the 19th century. But now, the recent demolition of the Queen Anne Revival style Wolff House on Broadmoor Street has sparked debate over how well the City of Richmond is protecting its historical buildings. “I was shocked when that house went down,” said Coun. Harold Steves, last week at a planning committee meeting. At issue is what the city calls a heritage inventory, which aims to document buildings, artefacts and areas of historical
significance. Unlike the heritage registry, which protects 36 city-owned sites, the inventory does not provide legal protection for heritage sites. At the meeting, confusion arose between staff and councillors as to what the exact purpose of the inventory was, with Richmond’s deputy chief administrative officer Joe Erceg finally concluding the inventory is a “hollow process” and “pointless exercise.” Erceg noted the city is in the midst of reviewing its heritage protection measures. The intent of the study is to apply “more rigour” to heritage protection. “With the way we’re going, we should scrap the inventory and not waste our money,” said Steves. The veteran councillor said everything on
the inventory list ought to be on the registry, for legal protection. This would mean buildings deemed historical would need to have alterations or demolitions approved by city council. Coun. Carol Day said the city ought to consider protecting any pre-Second World War building. Erceg replied that doing so wouldn’t be prudent as heritage preservation is a very subjective issue. “The heritage value of the Wolff House lies in its historical association with the development of original residential fabric of Steveston, made possible through the wealth created by the boom of the fishing and canning industries established in the 1880s,” notes the city’s inventory. See Home page 7
ARTS: A gig in Nashville helped Jardine jr. launch solo career 17
SPORTS: Local standouts host summer hockey academy 19
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