Finally we have good news.
A motion is going to council on Tuesday that proposes changes to RS zones to protect character houses like we had asked for under the Character House Zoning Review that were not previously implemented.
Addressing the Continuing Demolition of Character and Heritage Houses in RS Zones
Motion B.3 here.
Agenda Tuesday July 9, 2019 here.
It is urgent that there are a lot of letters of support for this motion that Councillor Colleen Hardwick is putting forward.
The following are some basic points from our letter that could be used or modified for an email to Council.
To: City of Vancouver, Mayor Stewart and Council
Re: Motion B.3: Addressing the Continuing Demolition of Character and Heritage Houses in RS Zones
This letter is in support of this motion.
This motion proposes needed changes to RS zones to address the continuing demolitions of character and heritage houses. The multi-year Character House Zoning Review consultation process showed very strong support for changes to avoid character house demolitions that were unfortunately not implemented at the time. Current retention options are clearly not adequate.
Encouraging adaptive reuse of existing character houses supports the City's objectives for environmental sustainability and affordability. These proposed amendments support that objective.
Note that a recent study shows:
“...it can take years before the embodied greenhouse gas emissions associated with new construction are offset by more efficient operations.. The average carbon dioxide emission payback period of 168 years for a typical high efficiency new home renders it unlikely that emission savings will be realized before it is replaced…”
Add any other personal observations regarding continuing demolitions and concerns.
Email to:
kennedy.stewart@vancouver.ca; adriane.carr@vancouver.ca; melissa.degenova@vancouver.ca; lisa.dominato@vancouver.ca; pete.fry@vancouver.ca; colleen.hardwick@vancouver.ca; jean.swanson@vancouver.ca; michael.wiebe@vancouver.ca; rebecca.bligh@vancouver.ca; christine.boyle@vancouver.ca; CLRkirby-yung@vancouver.ca;
Please send emails before 9:30 am Tuesday July 9.
Thank you.