1909 home in Oak Bay spared from demolition
Councillors unanimously agree to save ‘a most important house’
Oak Bay councillors have unanimously rejected a request to demolish a 1909 home, one of only three like it still standing in the municipality.
Oak Bay Mayor Nils Jensen said councillors listened to reports on Monday and decided against granting permission to allow the owner to demolish the stone house at 599 Island Rd.
“It is a most important house,” said Jensen in an interview. “Some of the experts have even suggested it is the most important house in Oak Bay from a heritage point of view.”
According to website Canada’s Historic Places, the house was completed in 1909 for Dr. Oswald Jones, the Welsh ship’s surgeon who arrived in B.C. in 1891 aboard HMS Warspite. Jones joined the practice of Dr. John Davie who introduced antiseptic surgery to B.C. and later established his own practice in Victoria.
The house, valued at $2.467 million according to the assessment roll, is wood frame with an exterior cladding of local granite. It has an original slate roof, one of only three like it in the municipality.
It was designed by architects Francis Rattenbury — who also designed the B.C. legislature and the Empress hotel — and Samuel Maclure.
In 1985, the surrounding estate was subdivided and a binding protective covenant was placed on the house declaring no change or demolition can occur without permission from Oak Bay council.
The present owners said they’re concerned the house is not built to seismic code. Engineering reports have concluded it would be near impossible to bring it up to 100 per cent of the code.
But a report to councillors stated nothing in the B.C. Building Code requires a homeowner to seismically upgrade an existing home. Such upgrades are voluntary.
Also presented to council was an engineering report that suggested measures could be undertaken to make the house 60 to 80 per cent compliant with the seismic code. At present, the home is rated at 10 per cent seismically compliant.
The report to council said while the house’s heritage value is well identified, it has not been officially designated as an Oak Bay heritage property.
If the owners were to apply and have the home so designated, they could then apply for grants from historical foundations and other programs to assist with upgrades.