West End Neighbours asks Mayor Gregor Robertson to delay St. John's Church demolition
The community group West End Neighbours has issued the following letter:
27 January 2011
Subject: Please delay demolition, seek other options for St. John’s Church at 1401 Comox
Dear Mayor Robertson and Vancouver City Councillors,
West End Neighbours (WEN) is alarmed about a sudden and precipitous announcement that threatens the very core of our community. Citing fire concerns, Westbank/Peterson, the owners of St. John's Church at 1401 Comox Street, have applied for a permit to demolish this valued landmark of the West End. This church has special significance for our community, with its 100 year history of progressive social attitudes and activities, including engagement in the struggle for the rights of the LGBT community and minority groups.
This demolition permit application contradicts the developer’s promise not to demolish the Church “prior to Council consideration of the rezoning application,” as conveyed to us by Vancouver City Director of Planning, Brent Toderian in a November 2009 e-mail message.
WEN finds the stated reasons for demolition unconvincing. Developers able to build a twenty-two storey building should also be able to operate a fire alarm and sprinklers in a two storey structure. We question why the developers have not used the existing alarm and sprinklers in the church over these many months. Instead neighbours were forced to monitor the safety of the building and report unusual activity. If there was a building safety concern, why did these multi-million dollar corporations not demonstrate their interest previously? And why is demolition now so urgent? A hundred years of neighbourliness can surely continue until the future of the property is determined. The owners should turn the fire alarm and sprinklers back on, secure the site, and abide by the usual and accepted practices of the city.
This demolition permit request is another step undermining trust between the developer and the community, following a woefully inadequate consultation process and a flawed telephone survey described in text and in video on our website.
While we understand that the City has limited legal means to prevent this demolition, we invite the Director of Planning, the Mayor and Councillors to seek a delay in the demolition, and for all to show that they respect the concerns of the community. Over 11,000 people have signed our petition against rezoning and calling for a comprehensive plan for the West End. A comprehensive plan is the best vehicle to determine public priorities for this site.
WEN calls on the Mayor and Council to use the community planning process to explore opportunities for the use of this building as a true community resource. Options might include buying or somehow obtaining this property from the developers so it can be restored to its original purpose of serving all the residents of the West End.
Sincerely,
Randy Helten
President, West End Neighbours
www.WestEndNeighbours.ca
Comments
17 Comments
JamieLee
Jan 28, 2011 at 10:32am
Hopefully this Council will be responsive to the West End community regarding unsuitable developments. There is no need for demolition at this time. There is a process underway which must be adhered to and for developers to think they can do whatever they please whenever they want is not very neighbourly. Citizens are becoming quite tired of bad development in this City and if these unwanted developments continue there will be a price to pay come this November when civic elections are held.
Dennis O'Bell
Jan 28, 2011 at 10:51am
Here's a link to the video mentioned above of the Westbank/Stratcom survey. Busted!...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=i5XbxNOZp4g
?
Jan 28, 2011 at 12:37pm
Can we all say NIMBY.
The space is being wasted and could be turned into much needed housing. Wake up people we don't need an old abandoned church we need more rental space so Vancouver can continue to grow and be economically viable.
Why do you all want to live in the past. We have to start living for the future.
Dennis O'Bell
Jan 28, 2011 at 2:33pm
Response to ?
Can we all say development industry dim bulb hack?
?
Jan 28, 2011 at 3:59pm
I understand you want to keep rents artificially high so you can maintain your property value but the rest of us would like to have affordable living space.
This has nothing to do with pro development and everything to do fear mongering by a small group of westenders.
This smacks of lame politics over sensible positions. Let us honor the memory of the church and all that happened there by allowing it to change and transform into new, updated housing so our beautiful city can continue to grow and thrive instead of stagnating under the weight of people not willing to let go of the past.
Dennis O'Bell
Jan 28, 2011 at 4:56pm
Response to ?
That's the flaw in your argument. If you really were interested in affordable housing, and are capable of rational thinking, it isn't difficult to spend a few minutes on a little research, and come to the obvious discovery that the proposal for 1401 Comox has nothing to do with affordable housing.
On the simpler argument, apartment sales in the immediate neighbourhood, despite the looming proposal at 1401 Comox, have not suffered either for prices or long listing times since the yellow sign went up.
There goes your property values argument.
Now let's look at the urban blight created by the city and the Olympic Village developers at Davie & Bidwell which now has a lien on it by it's architect. That project was pitched as luxury condo / STIR "affordable" housing building.
But it's not going to go up anytime soon now. The boarded up commercial spaces on that block is now a decaying eyesore which at one point had squatters camping out, thanks to Vision Vancouver Mayor and Council, when the businesses there could have continued operating in the community before they were evicted.
So now what's going to happen? Property speculation, flipping. Just keep an eye on the assessment of these parcels and you'll see what happens when they get rezoned.
Do you actually think Westbank is in the business of owning apartment buildings? He'll be wanting to flip that to a pension fund, or real estate based eschange traded fund before you can say "election" and Westbank do not build cheap.
1401 Comox "affordable"?
Yes let's honor a place that served the community with a building for the purposes of real estate speculation. Please.
?
Jan 28, 2011 at 7:59pm
If not housing then what?
West Ender
Jan 29, 2011 at 11:08am
An updated community plan would be a good place to start in determining what's appropriate for this site. For now, the site is zoned for residential uses with up to 26,000 square feet of floor area. The developer has asked for an unreasonable "spot rezoning" to allow 130,000 square feet of floor area. What's appropriate for the site? Let's ask the community, rather than allowing a developer to benefit at the expense of neighbours through the creation of some of the highest-priced rental housing in the neighbourhood. (Hong Kong's experiment in higher density and additional rental housing has not resulted in a reduction in rents or increased affordability).
Ray I
Jan 29, 2011 at 2:02pm
If the community LOVES this church so much then why does this church not LOVE the community? These NIMBY's should be taking their wrath out on that church that they claim is so much a part of their community. You want to moderate increases in housing costs then you have to increase the supply of housing or re-write the laws of supply and demand.
Dennis O'Bell
Jan 29, 2011 at 5:26pm
Response to Ray I
Some in the community do feel betrayed by the church, but that doesn't take away from the benefit as a community center gathering place where groups could use the facilities, and where people held weddings and funerals. Where is that supposed to take place now? In the lobby of a condo?
It's amusing to hear the suggestion that simple supply and demand will regulate housing affordability in the West End. Supply increase didn't work out that way in Tokyo and Hong Kong.
In over a decade increase of housing and density both within the West End, neighbouring Coal Harbour, downtown and Yaletown, guess which direction rents and prices went?