I was reading the news today and came across this article: The $6-million Vancouver mansion, complete with indoor pool and media centre, that’s just another tear down
Basically, Vancouver home owner has filed an application for a demolition permit for his luxury multi-million-dollar home located in Vancouver’s upscale Shaughnessy neighbourhood. The home has 7,200 square feet of living space, indoor swimming pool and a media centre. According to BC Assessments the property is worth $7.44 million today. It was purchased back in 2013 for just over $6 million.
The owner is technically not doing anything wrong. So why did this matter get so much media attention?
Vancouver is a known “green city” and tearing down a perfectly good home seems like a waste of resources. The house is not even 20 years old.
Vancouver council woman Adriane Carr plans to voice her disapproval over the application. “It’s just criminal that it should be torn down,” Carr told CTV Vancouver. “It’s an expensive home, it’s a big home, and the fact that it could be torn down and replaced, it goes against everything the city is trying to do to be the greenest city.”
We can understand both points of view. On one hand it doesn’t make sense to “waste” resources, but on the other hand private individuals can do what they want with their money. Forbidding someone to build a new home because their “old” one is a “perfectly good home” is the same as forbidding someone to buy a new television because their old one is a perfectly good television. It is up to all of us as people to control our resources consumption.
As long as the new proposed house complies with all city by-laws and regulations, I don’t see any problem for the owner to obtain the demolition and development permits for his/her project.