It's looking like another Delta heritage building is about to face the wrecking ball.
Having seen better days, the Kittson House on Highway 10 (9230 Ladner Trunk Rd.) will be torn down sometime in the near future unless someone steps forward to save it.
Sunny Bay Greenhouses Ltd. constructed a hothouse operation on the property near the Highway 99 interchange, but agreed not to seek a demolition permit for the gradually crumbling house on the site in order to give the municipality time to seek alternative locations. That process has lasted well over a year.
The owner of the site has indicated they'd like to remove the house soon, prompting the heritage advisory commission to make one last ditch attempt through advertisement to find someone interested in moving and restoring the structure.
The big problem, however, is that restoring the house in its current location, including fixing structural issues, would be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, according to an expert who conducted an evaluation of the structure. Moving the house would be just as cost prohibitive.
Coun. Jeannie Kanakos, chair of Delta's Heritage Advisory Commission, said a number of people have expressed interest in saving the house.
"We've basically done all that we can and we have not found someone willing to take on the cost. We want to make sure we cover as much social media as possible to anybody who might be interested in it or pass the word," she said.
Delta pioneer Robert Kittson built a barn at the site in 1895 and the house in 1907.
Kittson ran a mixed farming operation on the site and was also active in the community, serving on the Delta school board and council, including as reeve in 1904 and 1905.
The house is listed as having a high heritage value and is on Delta's heritage inventory, but it's not on a heritage registry that provides greater protection. The barn is now gone and the house, seen by thousands of passing motorists daily, could soon follow if someone doesn't step forward.
"It's known as the old yellow house has and it's definitely an historic monument. If you see the minutes of the Heritage Advisory Commission, it's been on almost every agenda for the last couple of years and we've been trying to figure out what we can do and exploring every option possible," said Kanakos.
"At this point, we know the owner is really coming to the end of his rope in terms of what we can do, but we're still hoping there is someone out there who cam relocate it and restore it."
The heritage commission has completed a proposed new municipal heritage strategy that's currently in draft form. The last heritage strategy was done in 1997, but it was only a five-year plan.
Kanakos said the next step is to refer the new strategy to a business planning workshop of council because it has "significant financial implications."
During a commission discussion on the strategy, it was noted one of the main challenges is the limited availability of conservation incentives.
The commission retained heritage consultant Donald Luxton to help formulate the new plan, a strategy that has seven goals with 36 actions.
