The owner of an Oak Bay property with a heritage wall that had openings jackhammered into it last week has taken legal action to outflank a municipal move that might put more protective regulation in the way of building a new home.
John Alexander, lawyer for Rebecca Miller and her husband Mike, owner of Abstract Developments Inc., have initiated a petition to B.C. Supreme Court. Further days in court have not been scheduled.
Alexander said the petition was filed to get ahead of an Oak Bay council move to enact a heritage control period bylaw for the Prospect Place area. It’s feared the new bylaw, scheduled for discussion Monday, will require the Millers to obtain a “heritage alteration permit” to construct their home.
“They are about to get caught by this unilateral change in the law,” he said.
The intent to get ahead of the new heritage bylaw was also cited last week when a work crew with a jackhammer made openings in a 122-year-old rock wall on the property on Prospect Place.
The wall once bordered the home of a son of Sir Charles Tupper, a Father of Confederation, and is listed on Oak Bay’s heritage registry.
The Millers already have a permit to build a single-family home on the 1.7-acre site. That permit was issued two years ago and renewed last year.
But Mike Miller has said house plans will likely change. New plans call for a home with a lower profile that will require less blasting.
But it’s feared any new plans might trigger new heritage-alteration requirements.
