A 1911 Victoria heritage house gutted by fire last month will be demolished.
Victoria councillors reluctantly granted a permit Thursday to allow for the demolition of what remains of the house at 902 Foul Bay Road.
But they recommended that during demolition city staff regularly inspect the site to help ensure no accidents occur that might damage other heritage-designated elements, such as the property’s landscaping, the stone fence and gate.
Council also is requesting that, safety permitting, the stone elements of the house, such as the chimney, be retained for possible reuse in future development of the site.
Steve Barber, interim senior heritage planner, said the Jan. 25 fire destroyed the house’s interior and roof. The stone chimney, which is still standing, is not supported and poses a hazard, he said.
“Although the exterior still has some elements of it, the interior is completely gone. The roof is completely gone. It’s in a very hazardous situation in that you can see the stone chimney is not really being supported by the structure of the house,” Barber said in recommending the demolition be allowed.
Coun. Pam Madoff suggested staff site visits during demolition to ensure there are no “oops moments.”
“I think this is a very sad day from the city’s point of view and from the community’s point of view in terms of a great loss to our built heritage. It is my recollection that this is the first time that any council has had to entertain a demolition permit for a designated heritage structure,” Madoff said.
She said that had the site been secured as it is now, the fire might never have occurred. “We might actually be looking at a building that was actually going through a rehabilitation process,” she said.
But Earl Large, of property owner Large and Co., said he resented any suggestion that more could have been done to secure the building.
“We did nothing but safeguard the house. The house was safeguarded and approved by the bylaw officer of the city last August,” he said.
The house was boarded up and had not been connected to power or water.
Brush had been cleared around the structure to improve visibility, said Large, who attributed the fire to homeless people getting inside.
“What else could it be? There hasn’t been power or water to the building in five years,” he said.
Both Madoff and Barber said it is likely the first time council has approved demolition of a heritage designated house.
The two-storey house was originally built for lawyer David S. Tait.
The property's heritage designation included the exterior of the house, some interior features and the land, including the trees, a stone wall and the iron gate.
Large and Co. purchased the house in 2014 with the goal of restoring it and building townhouses in the yard. Last April, the company submitted a request to demolish the house based on environmental assessments. The house had been home to about 100 cats and was deemed contaminated with mould, feces and urine.
Large said the inside of the house was “a biological minefield.” The contamination, he said, could never be cleaned up.
Barber said that the fact the landscaping has heritage designation means council will have significant authority to regulate the design of what is eventually built on the site.
