Every effort will be made to save another Ladner heritage home from the wrecking ball, says Coun. Jeannie Kanakos.
The chair of the Delta Heritage Advisory Commission had that promise following Delta council's decision this week to go along with a commission recommendation to impose a 60-day temporary protection order for the Gillespie House at 4964-47A Ave.
The municipality received a rezoning application for a four-lot singlefamily subdivision, which includes coach houses, where the Victorian cottagestyle house is located. The applicant hasn't applied for a demolition permit yet, but the application indicates the heritage house would be removed.
The house is on Delta's Heritage Inventory, but not on the Heritage Register, which provides greater protection.
Constructed in 1901 for R.H Gillespie, an employee of Marshall Smith's store, the house has had a variety of renters and owners throughout its lifetime.
The developer will appear at a heritage commission meeting next week where members will try to
get more information and encourage the applicant to look at ways of incorporating the house into the redevelopment, said Kanakos. The community most recently saw the Kittson House on Ladner Trunk Road demolished after
unsuccessful efforts to save it, but Kanakos noted the two situations are different.
"Kittson did have a temporary protection order on it and the owner agreed with that. We were all looking for potential buyers or developers to take on the
Kittson House but that didn't happen. The temporary protection order ran out but the owner did not demolish it until we tried everything we possibly could," she said.
"This is a little bit different and it's early days in the discussion on this project. I'm really hoping the message from the heritage advisory commission to the proponent gets through
that we really value the Gillespie House, and the best option would be to somehow include that in the development."
She said an earlier proposal had the house being retained.
