Since its inception as a premier Vancouver subdivision more than a century ago, Shaughnessy has served as the residence of many of the city’s elites. Low in density and predominantly a single-family-dwelling area, it boasts a number of heritage buildings that hark back to its history as the habitation of the rich and powerful.

One of these is the Nichol House, located at 1402 McRae Avenue. Originally owned by Walter Nichol, one of the early owners of the Province newspaper and a former lieutenant-governor of British Columbia, the mansion was built on a large property stretching from The Crescent—the site of some of Shaughnessy’s most expensive estates—to 16th Avenue and Granville Street.

The current owner of the property—Arthur Bell Holdings Ltd.—has applied to city hall to rezone the lower portion of the estate abutting Granville Street. The company plans to build 16 two- and three-storey townhouses, with a 51-car underground garage. In exchange for this development, the Nichol House would not only be retained but, more importantly, be designated a municipal heritage building. The house is already listed on the Vancouver Heritage Register, but the designation would provide legal protection for its historical value.

According to city planning director Brent Toderian, a staff report is headed to council recommending approval of the application filed on behalf of Arthur Bell Holdings Ltd. by Formwerks Architectural.

In a phone interview, Toderian noted that the staff report dated January 2, 2008, will also recommend council hold a public hearing in February on the proposed rezoning.

“Under heritage legislation, an owner is not required to designate a building without compensation,” Toderian told the Georgia Straight. “We don’t have the ability to prevent demolition or to require designation. We try to create a strong business case for developers or proponents to retain the heritage feature and to designate it. In this case, the city has done evaluation through our real-estate group of the cost to the developer of retaining the heritage site and has negotiated the townhouse density to match that.”

The planning director also said that the density agreed upon doesn’t give the developer a windfall “over and above what’s called reasonable developer profit, and that’s usually calculated at 15 percent”.

“Also there’s no financial detriment to preserving the heritage building,” Toderian said. “Therefore the requirements of legislation for compensation have been met.”

Toderian acknowledged that there’s been growing concern among Shaughnessy residents about this proposed development.

Three residents—Richard Wood and his wife, Sabine, and Morey Richman—have even hired former Vancouver city planner Ray Spaxman to evaluate the proposal.

In comments posted on a Web site (www.vote
mcrae.com/ ) put up by Wood, Spaxman pointed out that although the heritage house would be retained, the development of townhouses would harm the character of Shaughnessy as a whole.

“The sinuous row of townhouses, and their density, are completely out of character with anything that can be found in the District,” Spaxman noted. “As well, the removal of that wonderful point of arrival between the leafy Shaughnessy and the hard urban edges of the Granville Street shops at W. 16th would further reduce the richness of the urban experience of Vancouver.”

Spaxman also warned that the “rezoning would also set a dangerous precedent suggesting that the whole perimeter of Shaughnessy could be rezoned to similar townhouse and other examples of higher densities”.

The mandate of the Shaughnessy Heights Property Owners’ Association includes the preservation of the neighbourhood’s historical single-family character. “We believe in single-family homes in Shaughnessy,” SHPOA president Frank Shorrock told the Straight. “The neighbours don’t want townhouses.”

While Shaughnessy may be the home of the rich—part of the traditional base of the ruling Non-Partisan Association of Mayor Sam Sullivan—Shorrock isn’t sure whether or not residents have enough influence to stop the proposed development.

“The city’s got EcoDensity, and it’s hell-bent on developing all over the city,” Shorrock said. “It’s certainly EcoDensity.”