Victoria Mckean September 27, 2020 Mayor and Council District of Oak

Victoria McKean

From: Oak Bay Council Sent: September 28, 2020 3:28 PM To: Victoria McKean Subject: FW: September 28th Council Meeting, Agenda Item #13 785 Island Heritage Designation

Follow Up Flag: Follow up Flag Status: Flagged

From: Jane Hall Sent: Monday, September 28, 2020 2:34 PM To: Oak Bay Council Subject: September 28th Council Meeting, Agenda Item #13 785 Island Heritage Designation

September 27, 2020

Mayor and Council District of Oak Bay 2167 Oak Bay Avenue Victoria, BC

As a long‐time resident of Island Rd., I am writing in support of potential solutions to preserve the 108 year old home at 785 Island. This property has heritage value as outlined in other official submissions to date and contributes to the character of the street in general.

I’m aware that the idea of involuntary designation Bylaw 4764 is under discussion at Council and support going forward with Option 2 if the HRA that had been started cannot be completed.

As someone who has been following this matter, to return to the option of an HRA, would allow the developer to retain the original home and add a second dwelling. If a creative and reasonable solution could be found to satisfy both the District and the developer, I believe this would be a sensitive way to increase density while preserving the character of the existing streetscape and reducing the environmental impact of new construction. The proposal put forward did also appear to minimize impacts on adjacent properties, and seemed consistent with existing policies and strategies of Council, for example:

Official Community Plan, 2014

1.6.2 Broad Strategies BP2. Consider infill development as a tool for allowing more density to fit within neighbourhoods while respecting and conserving neighbourhood character.

1 BP3. Accommodate future growth, in general, in areas that are already developed in order to retain Oak Bay’s natural environment, parks and open space.

Oak Bay Heritage Plan, 2013 1. Conserve established streetscapes and neighbourhoods 2. Conserve historic buildings and structures

Thank you for your consideration of this matter,

Jane Hall

Oak Bay

2 To: Oak Bay Mayor and Council Re: Designation of 785 Island Road

I would like to add my support to the preservation of 785 Island Road. It is a home of considerable architectural and historical merit as well as contributing to the ambience and streetscape of Island Road.

Barriers to retention of this heritage building seem to be connected to the District’s unreasonable financial demands in relation to a proposed Heritage Revitalization Agreement. The province designed the HRA as a planning tool and incentive for repurposing and retaining heritage structures. It is meant to be a win-win situation for both the municipality and the owner. Oak Bay has seen fit to negate this balance by requiring extensive building code upgrades and infrastructure costs.

As an owner of a heritage building, listed on the Oak Bay Heritage Register, I had seriously considered preserving our landmark home by entering into an HRA. However recent examples of the financial hardship and administrative obstructions encountered by owners when dealing with the municipality has given me grounds for second thought.

Demolitions of significant heritage structures will continue erode the character and ambiance of Oak Bay until Mayor and Council review the policies and procedures that block incentives to preserve our historical neighbourhoods.

Regards Jean Sparks

Oak Bay, BC September 28,2020 Victoria McKean

From: KIM THORNBER Sent: September 28, 2020 8:38 AM To: Oak Bay Council Subject: 785 Island Road

Mayor and Council,

I am hoping it will be possible to preserve the house at 785 Island Road. It has an interesting history, and the Karl Spurgin design is very attractive. I think it would benefit our neighbourhood if an agreement could be reached with the developer.

Thank you,

Kim Thornber

1 Victoria McKean

From: Stuart Stark & Associates Sent: September 27, 2020 8:36 PM To: Oak Bay Council Subject: Re: 785 Island Road - Karl Spurgin Home

September 27, 2020

Dear Mayor and Council of Oak Bay

Re: 785 Island Road ‐ Karl Spurgin Home

I would like to add my support of Oak Bay Council proceeding with the Heritage Designation of this significant Oak Bay House, which was first identified as having heritage significance in my book Oak Bay’s Heritage Buildings in 1986, written for Oak Bay’s Heritage Advisory Committee as an inventory of significant Oak Bay buildings worthy of preservation.

A house designed and built by an architect for his own use is always important, as it helps define the architectural influences and preferences he (or she) used in their other commissions.

Karl Spurgin was a well‐regarded architect, both on his own, from 1911 on; and as the partner of William Semeyn between 1928 and 1931.

Spurgin trained in England, and came to Victoria in 1911 at the age of thirty‐four. He – along with other British‐born architects who came to live in Victoria – was responsible for the unique English appearance of our community through his designs, many referencing Arts & Crafts and Tudor‐revival influences.

Spurgin designed many significant buildings in the 1920s, including Oak Bay High School (now demolished); and Margaret Jenkins Elementary School (extant). In Oak Bay he designed the houses on Patio Court (extant, Heritage Designated, in the Prospect); as well as 1220 Newport Avenue, the handsome block on the corner of Newport Avenue, with stores below and apartments above, overlooking Windsor Park (with architect J.G. Johnson, extant). Unfortunately, many of his buildings have been demolished, which makes his own home a rare example of his work. The next home he designed for his own family, was a Tudor‐revival built in 1928 in Saanich (1908 Waterloo Road, corner of Richmond Road). That municipality recognized the importance of his work by Designating that house in 1997. His earlier Oak Bay home is, in some ways, more significant than his later house, showing, as it does, his early designs, and a typical architect‐designed Oak Bay house of 1912‐1914.

I encourage Oak Bay to Designate Karl Spurgin’s own house, and to work with the owners on a Heritage Revitalization Agreement. The property is ideal to allow such a move. With a separate frontage on Plumer Street, a new house could be built there (hopefully sympathetic to the neighbourhood), to offset keeping Spurgin’s original home as a Heritage Designated property, with no change to the important Island Road streetscape.

The neighbours have already invested in restoring the exterior of their home on the corner of Island Road and the Plumer Street right‐of‐way. Designating the next‐door Spurgin home at 785 Island Road would reinforce the preservation of the special character of the neighbourhood.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Stuart Stark

Stuart Stark, B.Arch. Principal Stuart Stark & Associates Heritage Consultants

Offices at: Victoria B.C., Canada Email: [email protected] Website: www.HeritageConsultants.ca

2 Victoria McKean

From: taylorbronwyn Sent: September 27, 2020 8:15 PM To: Barb & Ken Grant Cc: Mayor Kevin Murdoch; Oak Bay Council; Andrew Appleton; Hazel Braithwaite; Tara Ney; Cairine Green; Esther Paterson; Eric Wood Zhelka; Lou Varela Subject: Re: Re. 785 Island Rd., September 28/20 agenda item number 14

I agree with your final statement, since the OBHC endorsed the HRA application many months ago. My understanding of establishing an HRA is that it involves negotiations between the parties (owner & Municipality) that results in a mutually agreeable situation, NOT one where the municipality imposes set fees on the applicant.

I forwarded to Council the study done by the Foundation that indicates property values are not negatively affected by designation. Heritage BC also has information to support this position.

On Sep 27, 2020, at 7:34 PM, Barb & Ken Grant wrote:

Sept. 27, 2020

Re. 785 Island Rd., September 28/20 agenda item number 14

Dear Mayor and Council,

We’re in favour of heritage designation for 785 Island Road, but gaining that designation by working out a win‐win situation for the property owner and the municipality. Since the owners were originally willing to pursue the option, recommended by staff, of a Heritage Revitalization Agreement, may this option be revisited?

In Bruce Anderson’s staff report dated September 14, 2020, Mr. Anderson states that the owners have advised that they will be seeking financial compensation as based on the market value of the property as a result of a heritage designation (should designation be imposed by Council on the property).

There seems to be an assumption by the owners of 785 Island Road and staff (please see “Option 2” of Mr. Anderson’s report) that there will be a reduction in market value as a result of the heritage designation.

This assumption of loss of market value may be a misconception. It’s certainly something we’ve never experienced as owners of heritage properties.

We have designated three homes in Oak Bay and sold two of them so far over the years and never once suffered any financial reduction when it came time to sell these properties. These homes were well maintained and in good working order when they were listed for sale, and quickly sold at market value. One of these homes sold the day the sign went up, even with the heritage designation in the works and still proceeding to Council. The purchaser was happy to sign a document saying she was aware of the forthcoming heritage designation and approved it.

1 Rather than entering into a “mediation process to determine financial compensation,” why not enter into a mediation process to solve the impasse to a Heritage Revitalization Agreement?

Respectfully,

Ken and Barb Grant

2 Victoria McKean

From: Barb & Ken Grant Sent: September 27, 2020 7:36 PM To: Mayor Kevin Murdoch Cc: Oak Bay Council; Andrew Appleton; Hazel Braithwaite; Tara Ney; Cairine Green; Esther Paterson; Eric Wood Zhelka; Lou Varela Subject: Re. 785 Island Rd., September 28/20 agenda item number 14

Sept. 27, 2020

Re. 785 Island Rd., September 28/20 agenda item number 14

Dear Mayor and Council,

This assumption of loss of market value may be a misconception. It’s certainly something we’ve never experienced as owners of heritage properties.

Rather than entering into a “mediation process to determine financial compensation,” why not enter into a mediation process to solve the impasse to a Heritage Revitalization Agreement?

Respectfully,

Ken and Barb Grant

Victoria McKean

From: Robert Longe Sent: September 27, 2020 12:48 PM To: Oak Bay Council; Mayor Kevin Murdoch; Andrew Appleton; Hazel Braithwaite; Tara Ney; Cairine Green; Esther Paterson; Eric Wood Zhelka; Lou Varela Subject: 785 Island Road Heritage Designation Bylaw, 2020

Mayor Murdoch, Members of Council

Another Heritage House for demolition? Both its history and its construction make 785 Island Road exceptional.

In addition to financial gain for a developer and revenue for Oak Bay, we have to consider the significant losses which would follow from this house being destroyed. ‐ Loss to community of Oak Bay as a piece of its history disappears ‐ Loss to the nearby residents when an “anchor building” for the community is destroyed. ‐ Loss to posterity as Oak Bay takes incremental steps towards a place of could‐be‐anywhere houses. ‐ Loss of landscape to the community and to visitors ‐ Loss for Oak Bay and Victoria if this important heritage house is not saved..

We urge you to protect Oak Bay’s heritage.

With respect

Robert & Barbara Longe

1 Victoria McKean

From: Peter Grant Sent: September 26, 2020 1:51 PM To: Oak Bay Council Cc: Paula Grant Subject: 785 Island Road

To: Mayor and Council, District of Oak Bay

Re: 785 Island Road Heritage Designation Bylaw, 2020, No. 4764.

I write as a long‐time resident of south Oak Bay with first‐hand knowledge of the house and its owners circa 1925‐1982. The Keith family history, and my family’s connection with the Keiths, are related in the biographical sketch "Keef and More Keef: Getting to Know Agnes and Harry Keith” on my Oak Bay Chronicles website. I can testify that the living room, as I knew it circa 1950s‐1980, possessed a quality of intimacy that the dark veneer and beams accentuated, and it remains a space unique in my experience. Quite apart from its outstanding heritage features, detailed in Patricia Wilson’s letter to you of September 24, 785 Island Road has historic significance. Agnes Newton Keith wrote her most famous book, Three Came Home, there. The Keith house was that home. Three Came Home is a profound meditation on the human spirit that has taken its place in world literature. Not long ago I received a copy of the book translated into Chinese. Additionally, I beg you to consider the prominence of the property in the neighbourhood. If Oak’s Bay’s iconic neighbourhood charm has a Ground Zero, it is Island Road, and 785 is integral to that charm. Its siting and external character contribute inestimably to that charm. Preserving that special quality should be your highest priority.

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on this important matter.

Peter Grant

We strongly support heritage designation for the protection of 785 Island Road.

Paula Grant and Peter Grant

1 Victoria McKean

From: Solange Meilleur Sent: September 27, 2020 11:10 AM To: Oak Bay Council Subject: September 28 meeting, Item #13

Mayor Kevin Murdoch Councillors Appleton, Braithwaite, Green, Ney, Paterson, and Zhelka District of Oak Bay

Re: Agenda Item #13, September 28 meeting: 785 Island Road Heritage Designation Bylaw

I am writing about the Temporary Protection Order on 785 Island Road. As an interested party, I have been waiting to see what would happen after the Heritage Commission recommended heritage designation on this property. A year later, in a 180 degree change of heart, the applicant wants to demolish the very building he wanted protected.

I listened to your discussion about forced heritage designation, and mediated compensation, at your September 21 meeting. I applaud Councillor Paterson for her courage. I am sure she gave this particular house great consideration. I have seen her many times talk about our heritage homes, and there is no doubt she wants to save all she possibly can. But she probably knows the house at 785 Island Road, while of heritage value, is not the house – if any - that should trigger a forced designation. The applicant, a year ago, had asked for the exterior only to be preserved. The interior could be gutted if he wanted to. This house seems a poor choice to raise the alarm over a contentious policy. But it is a good choice to demonstrate how flawed the Heritage Revitalization Agreement process is.

The discussions about 785 last year at the Heritage Commission, and this year at Council on July 27 and again on September 21, were ostensibly about heritage designation. To the developer and to most other interested parties they were, in actual fact, about the attendant subdivision of the lot at 785 Island Road. The Heritage Commission has been used time and again for this purpose, and it isn’t surprising the applicant was advised to follow that route as the easiest way to subdivide.

Unexpected costs of up to ~$600,000 for infrastructure upgrades blind-sided the applicant. Half a million dollars to service a new, undersize lot is too much money, and so negotiations with Oak Bay eventually broke down, as they should have. Oak Bay residents do not want their taxes to subsidize developers on infrastructure work that was not planned on the short or medium term, on Plumer Street or on any other street.

I would be supportive of an additional house next door if I believed it would help with density or diversity. Instead it triggers unnecessary infrastructure upgrades, increases traffic and parking needs on a restricted width road, and detracts from the character of Oak Bay, all the while taking us further away from our goal of diversity. A big single, detached, multimillion dollar home, squeezed in at the end of a tiny cul-de-sac, would only reinforce our predominant demographic.

There is a long list of solid reasons not to subdivide 785 Island Road. Unfortunately, if you force a heritage designation, the applicant is more likely to try and seek additional profit from a second house on that lot.

Sincerely,

Solange Meilleur 1 Victoria McKean

From: Lou Varela Sent: September 28, 2020 3:29 PM To: Sarah Morden; Victoria McKean Subject: FW: 785 Island Road Heritage Designation Bylaw, 2020

Follow Up Flag: Follow up Flag Status: Flagged

From: Michael Prince Sent: Friday, September 25, 2020 8:56 PM To: Oak Bay Council ; Mayor Kevin Murdoch ; Andrew Appleton ; Hazel Braithwaite ; Tara Ney ; Cairine Green ; Esther Paterson ; Eric Wood Zhelka ; Lou Varela Subject: 785 Island Road Heritage Designation Bylaw, 2020

TO: Mayor & Council

FROM: Michael J. Prince,

DATE: September 25, 2020

RE: 785 Island Road Heritage Designation Bylaw, 2020, No. 4764

During these exceptional times, our sense of place and the stories we share are the threads of resilience for so many. One way people are coping and even thriving comes from the reassuring familiarity and character of local houses and streetscapes in Oak Bay.

I write to urge that Council give second reading to Heritage Designation Bylaw, 2020, No. 4764 and allow a Public Hearing on this important matter of community interest.

I recently appeared before you to speak in favour of the temporary protection order and of the historic significance of this property.

That 785 Island Road is not currently on the Community Heritage Register nor heritage designated does not mean the property lacks heritage value. In fact, the architectural substance and social meaningfulness of this property is long known and clearly documented in the Statement of Significance and associated correspondence.

1 Please continue the dialogue on protecting this property. Give second reading. Enable a public hearing.

Thank you.

September 24, 2020

Mayor and Council District of Oak Bay 2167 Oak Bay Avenue Victoria, BC

As a long-term advocate on behalf of the heritage of Oak Bay, I am encouraged that Council has moved the potential involuntary designation of 785 Island Road to a future Council meeting for a more fulsome discussion on the heritage value of the house and property.

I watched the webcast of the Council meeting of September 14 and it seems clarity of the heritage value of the home would help. I will try to expand on the existing consultant prepared statement of significance and base my comments on the five community heritage values and action plan in the Oak Bay Heritage Plan of 2013.

1. Conserve established streetscapes and neighbourhoods

This house contributes to the historic quality of the surrounding homes and represent the expansion of the Greater Victoria area in the building boom of 1910 – 1913. It offers plentiful green space to the street along with a charming lychgate at the front walk. The mass and form are compatible with other structures on this block.

2. Conserve historic buildings and structures

The architecture features are thoroughly detailed in the statement of significance already provided. Previous owners, Henry and Agnes Keith, provided in their 1982 wills that the housekeeper could remain in the house as long as she was able. She remained until a few years ago. This is probably why so many original features remain intact.

3. Conserve cultural landscape features, 4. Conserve natural landscape feature and ecological heritage

This is another historic home built on Oak Bay land without blasting. The landscape garden space around the house is a celebrated feature of home building of the period. Anecdotal stories of the house’s owners say that many of the plants still on the property were planted by Henry Keith, a world- famous botanist.

5. Celebrate Oak Bay’s unique history

This is where the 1912 property comes into its major importance to Oak Bay. The builder and first owner was Karl Spurgin, an architect who designed homes and buildings all around the Greater Victoria area. This was his home while he was building his own architecture practice. He designed seven homes in The Prospect along with buildings such as the original Oak Bay High School, stores and apartments at Windsor Park /Oak Bay Avenue, clubhouse of the Uplands Golf Club and numerous other homes, commercial buildings and as well as the Fairfield United Church. In 1915, at the age of 38, Karl Spurgin enlisted and served as a Major in the 103rd Battalion. The 103rd Battalion, CEF, recruited and mobilized in Victoria, was an infantry battalion of the Great War Canadian Expeditionary Force. The 103rd Battalion was authorized on 22 December 1915 and embarked for Britain on 23 July 1916. This is a part of the Great War history recently celebrated across Canada including our heritage lecture about the Willows Camp.

The Keiths’ story as the second home owners is quite exceptional and covers an international perspective. Henry Keith had served in World War One and took his degree after that. He and his wife, Agnes, went to and graduated from the University of California, Berkeley and married 10 years after graduation. Before World War Two, Henry Keith’s occupation took him to Borneo as conservator of forests. The couple and their son returned to Borneo from Oak Bay at the start of World War Two and only to be imprisoned in the notorious war prisons in Borneo. Agnes Newton Keith started the manuscript for one of her novels, Three Came Home, by writing on cigarette papers and hiding the papers in her son’s toys. After the war they returned to Canada to recuperate and then returned to Borneo for Henry Keith’s work.

Henry Keith is credited with conservation of Borneo forests by encouraging implementation of a ‘sustained yield’ policy. He later went on to various prominent positions in forestry for the United Nations in the Philippines and Libya. His botany collections are housed at various museums in England and Asia. He has had the honour of plants being named for him to recognize his contribution to conservation and botany.

Agnes Newton Keith wrote seven novels after World War Two. Her story of life in the prisoner of war camps in Borneo, ‘Three Came Home’, was made into a movie in 1950. She wrote ‘Beloved Exile’ while living in Oak Bay. Her manuscripts are at the Bancroft Library, UC Berkeley. Their home in Sandakan, Borneo has been restored by the Sabah museum and is open to the public. The home is called the ‘Agnes Keith House’.

I hope that this further information adds to your discussion about the heritage value of 785 Island Road. This home is a reminder of their stories. If the home no longer exists, there is nothing to prompt future generations to inquire about the residents. The Oak Bay connection between this home and the previous owners’ lives will be lost.

Source: Saanich archives