Below is a template letter to protest the demolition of the Townley and Matheson Electric House. PLEASE CUT AND PASTE, PERSONALIZE, AND SEND to council and the provincial government. The emails follow the letter. Dear Mayor and Council, I am writing to express my outrage over the imminent destruction of 1550 West 29th Avenue, the Townley and Matheson’s 1922 “Model Electric Show House.” This house is significant as both a creation of one of Vancouver’s most important architectural firms and as a formerly pristine showcase home built to demonstrate the automated use of electricity to the public, the first house of its kind in Western Canada. In 2016, the City enacted for the first time an emergency Heritage Inspection Order and subsequently approved Temporary Heritage Protection to give staff time for a heritage assessment. The home was then assessed as an A-listed property for the Vancouver Heritage Register. Despite this, the current owner has rejected incentives to retain the home and it is currently in deconstruction. The replacement home will be over 9000 square feet and include a 6-car garage. This is yet another example of the city’s disregard for its built character and heritage resources. Our architectural legacy is quickly being eradicated for luxury redevelopment. I call on you to immediately begin talks with the new provincial government to create a suite of laws to prevent rampant demolition of livable homes for luxury redevelopment, and to preserve our more sustainable and affordable original housing stock. I also ask you to call a moratorium on the demolition of livable homes until such laws are in place. This is a priority issue for me and I will be voting according to your action, or non-action, in the upcoming civic election. Sincerely, Send letters to: mayor.media@vancouver.ca CLRaffleck@vancouver.ca CLRball@vancouver.ca CLRcarr@vancouver.ca CLRdegenova@vancouver.ca CLRdeal@vancouver.ca CLRstevenson@vancouver.ca CLRreimer@vancouver.ca CLRlouie@vancouver.ca CLRjang@vancouver.ca heritage.commission@vancouver.ca David.Eby.MLA@leg.bc.ca premier@gov.bc.ca