A Heritage Catch-22
Father breaks down in front of city council: ‘It hurts me to see my family maligned’
The father of a Kelowna man who demolished one of the city’s oldest homes broke down in front of city council at a public hearing this week.
David Cullen said his son had no choice. Heritage advocates in the Abbott Street Conservation Area have been waging a public campaign, warning a “death knell” looms for the neighbourhood. They contend the home at 409 Park Ave. was not beyond repair and could have been renovated.
“It hurts me to see my family maligned in that way,” said the elder Cullen, his voice breaking while holding back tears as he finished his presentation to council.
Later, during her turn to speak to councillors, long-time heritage activist Valerie Hallford accused him of faking it.
The elder Cullen told councillors he’s seen his son, Dave, and daughter-in-law, Brenda Rusnak, “honestly and earnestly” do everything they could to build a house that would follow the heritage standards.
“They found out from the structural engineer that it was structurally unsound. So what do you do? Someday you’ve got to realize that we all wear out, and our homes along with us,” he said. “You know, when somebody dies you bury them and when a house is finished I guess you have to tear it down.
“When I’m seeing the things that have been said – and there’s been a lot innuendo, and talk from people who are well-meaning, but uniformed – you’ve got to look at what people have to contend with,” he said.
“We all can’t spend $5 million to build a house we can live in.”
Area resident Sean Upshaw spoke right after David. He said the demolition of the house was done “under the stealth of COVID-19.”
“A big excavator showed up … and not too long after that began eliminating over 100 years of history,” he said.
“What was once part of Kelowna’s heritage, was now part of the landfill. By the way, I was the one who sent video (to media),” he added.
He said there’s nothing they can do about the house now — it’s gone.
But he doesn’t want to see the lot divided into two.
“I just want to ask city council to recognize that we start a slippery slope of subdividing, and eventually we’re going to see stratification applications come forward; they’re already in the works. This neighbourhood that we cherish is going to disintegrate because people want to line their pockets and they don’t respect the heritage that we have.”
The home that stood at 409 Park Ave. was built in 1907.
The younger Cullen, told council he sees the obligation to make the house fit into the area.
“This isn’t about money,” said Dave. “If I’m an evil developer out to make money, I’m not very good at it.”
Dave said he’s in a Catch 22: he can’t afford to keep the property if it’s not subdivided.
“I really take umbrage to the fact that we’re being portrayed as developers. I’m putting in an elevator. I want to be in this place for another 30 years,” he said. “This is not something we’re doing just because we’re developing.”
Dave asked council to rezone the now vacant property into two lots – one about 600 square metres and the other just over 500 sq. m.
“We looked so long and hard to find a house in the neighbourhood,” he said.
“Two single family homes is the best use of the land for the area. We feel that what we’re doing is consistent with the neighbourhood. We feel that adding the ability for another family to come into the neighbourhood is a positive thing.”
Dave said he knew the property was a heritage home. He hired a heritage consultant who had served for years on the city’s heritage committee to help. What he didn’t know was how many problems it would have. First, they removed asbestos after a hazardous materials assessment, having to strip the house down to the studs.
“It was a pretty dramatic change to what was in the home,” he said.
That done and the bones revealed, they found the home was not in the structural condition they were hoping, as it had additions that were causing structural issues.
“It was impractical to try to salvage the home,” he said.
Now that the lot is vacant, they settled on modern farmhouse-style architecture.
However, residents who spoke at the public meeting said they felt it didn’t look the same and it didn’t fit with the heritage feel. Some argued that developments like this are going to destroy the heritage area that they’ve all paid a lot of money to live in.
Hallford said she lived next door to the property for many years. She said as a struggling single mother she was able to restore her own home, along with maintaining a fabulous garden.
“This is the sort of thing that should have happened with 409 (Park Ave.),” she said. “What’s the point of saying these things now because the house is gone?
“The point of saying them now is that if this rezoning and subdivision – in that order – is allowed, more and more people will see existing houses as opportunities to develop.”
Hallford took personal aim at the senior Cullen. “Mr. Cullen has some very tearjerking arguments, shall we say.”
Hallford said they were discredited, however, by his statement that they were looking for “a parcel” to purchase.
“A parcel is what developers look for,” she said. “I pray, frankly, that council will see through this rather strange request that will have far reaching effects on one of the most valuable areas of our city.”
Susan Ames, president of the Kelowna South-Central Association of Neighbourhoods, said the home was located in one of the oldest neighbourhoods in the city. Laid out in 1904, the area was prosperous and prestigious. Then houses got torn down and drug houses popped up.
People have since tried to preserve its feel, and there’s a brochure that shows all the houses and trees in the area.
“You don’t have to subdivide the lot,” she implored.
Some councillors expressed disappointment in the night’s presentations.
“A couple of presentations got pretty vitriolic in nature,” said Coun. Mohini Singh. “That really doesn’t help us in our decisions.”
“I was disappointed to hear people (maligning) other people’s motives tonight,” said Coun. Luke Stack.
Coun. Gail Given said it was clear the applicant was looking to subdivide.
“When folks say they were surprised that the house would be demolished after that, it was in our report that subdivision was the ultimate intent of the applicant.”
In the end, council decided to approve the rezoning into two lots.
Coun. Charlie Hodge was opposed.