It was considered historically significant and a rare example of preserved heritage in Steveston from the turn of the 19th century.
But now, the recent demolition of the Queen Anne Revival style Wolff House on Broadway Street has sparked debate over how well the City of Richmond is protecting its historical buildings.
“I was shocked when that house went down,” said Coun. Harold Steves, last week at a planning committee meeting.
At issue is what the city calls a heritage inventory, which aims to document buildings, artefacts and areas of historical significance. Unlike the heritage registry, which protects 36 city-owned sites, the inventory does not provide legal protection for heritage sites.
At the meeting, confusion arose between staff and councillors as to what the exact purpose of the inventory was, with Richmond’s deputy chief administrative officer Joe Erceg finally concluding the inventory is a “hollow process” and “pointless exercise.”
Erceg noted the city is in the midst of reviewing its heritage protection measures. The intent of the study is to apply “more rigour” to heritage protection.
“With the way we’re going, we should scrap the inventory and not waste our money,” said Steves.
The veteran councillor said everything on the inventory list ought to be on the registry, for legal protection. This would mean buildings deemed historical would need to have alterations or demolitions approved by city council.
Coun. Carol Day said the city ought to consider protecting any pre-Second World War building. Erceg replied that doing so wouldn’t be prudent as heritage preservation is a very subjective issue.
“The heritage value of the Wolff House lies in its historical association with the development of original residential fabric of Steveston, made possible through the wealth created by the boom of the fishing and canning industries established in the 1880s,” notes the city’s inventory. The inventory goes on to note that the house, built in 1898, was one of the oldest surviving houses in Steveston, representing architecture that made its way from England at the time.
Steves said he was particularly shocked the wood-frame house came down, considering it had been renovated. The inventory, from 2000, noted the house had a new concrete foundation, roof and windows and was listed as being in “good condition.”
There are 96 items on the inventory. Most of the items are buildings, but others include artifacts, such as the cenotaph at Richmond City Hall, and areas, such as Burkeville.
The city created a Heritage Update in 2011, which only provided an overview of some of Richmond’s heritage preservation efforts.
The inventory was last updated in 2005, according to online documents at Richmond.ca.
Four other homes on the inventory have also since been demolished.
