District of West Vancouver council is being called out for letting two lighthouse keeper cottages in Lighthouse Park rot rather than rent them out.
In 2024, council held an in-camera council meeting in which they debated and ultimately rejected renting the two 1960s houses out but, because it was held behind closed doors, their reasons aren’t public.
David Roberts, whose son was one of the last residents to live in the one of the houses, said he doesn’t want to see the houses neglected to the point of no return, which is exactly what the district did with the Klee Wyck heritage home in Klee Wyck Park.
“I was after the mayor for over a year to get those cottages rented. I must have written him at least once a month,” he said. “For some reason, the staff in the parks department didn’t want to rent them.”
Roberts estimates the houses could fetch about $3,000 per month from someone wanting a single-family home on the waterfront within an old growth forest, 20 minutes from downtown Vancouver.
“One of them has been empty for four years, and the other for two years," he said, adding that the municipality could have collected hundreds of thousands of dollars in rent during that time. “They’re both deteriorating rapidly and they’re losing money.”
The decision makes even less sense in light of the housing crisis, Roberts said, adding West Vancouver council should know all too well how badly their own staff are in need of local housing options.
“Employees of the municipality can’t afford to live in the municipality. They live elsewhere and commute to work,” he said. “There’s a desperate housing shortage and these damn cottages are empty.”
Who owns Lighthouse Park?
The property where the lighthouse and its related buildings sit belongs to the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans but is subject to a management agreement between DFO and the municipality. That agreement specifies that the district is responsible for upkeep and repairs “of a non-capital nature” and that the district will retain a resident caretaker on the site. It also states the district may rent the two houses out for residential purposes on a month-to-month basis.
Larger scale capital repairs can be carried out by the district and DFO will reimburse the municipality for the costs, so long as the work and funding have been approved in advance, the agreement states.
Elaine Graham, the last parks caretaker to live in one of the houses and wife of the last lighthouse keeper before the beacon was automated, moved out in 2020.
Graham described living in the three-bedroom home on the edge of the ocean as “fantastic,” adding said the 1960s houses were in great condition when she left.
At the time, Graham said she pressed staff on what the future of the houses would be.
“Well, if they have a good plan, it’s obviously just to shut the houses, put an alarm on them and put rat boxes with bait outside,” she said. “It’s a personal insult. It’s a disgusting situation to see the grounds, how they’ve just been completely overcome with weeds and [how they’ve] abandoned the houses.”
Graham said she too worries the houses will face “death by neglect.” The cost of getting them live-in ready now would surely be higher than it was in 2020.
“They should have done that right when I left,” she said. “They should have put people in there, at least temporarily… who would have kept the house as it was then. God knows what it’s like now. There must be rats and things running around inside.”
In a response, the District of West Vancouver provided a statement.
“The district has set up the lower house for program and event rentals, however uptake has been minimal aside from a few meetings. Staff have plans to complete minor upgrades to make the space more appealing for community use, including small events, workshops, and programs. More efforts will be made to activate the space so it can be used and enjoyed by a wider range of park users,” the statement read.
“Lighthouse Park, including all the facilities and homes in the park, are owned by the federal government," the statement continued. "As such, all major upgrades to the facilities and homes are the responsibility of the federal government and requires their approval. Additionally, the homes are not suitable for long-term tenancy due to required upgrades to the septic and sewer systems, which the federal government is currently reviewing."
Roberts characterized the septic problem as an “invented excuse.”
“It was working when both the tenants moved out, and it hasn’t been used since so it cannot be broken,” he said. “The simple solution is fix it and pay for the costs with the rent.”
Alexandra Mancini, president of the Lighthouse Park Preservation Society, said her group used the lower house for their annual general meeting last year and they plan to again this year. Though the society’s mandate is for the preservation and enhancement of the old growth forest and coastline biodiversity, Mancini said she knows West Vancouver residents value the history of the buildings and don’t want to seem them neglected.
“We do think it’s valuable to have a presence in the park. And I think there are a lot of reasons to keep using [the cottages],” she said. “It just broke my heart to see the state of [Graham's] lovely cottage. There it was. It’s always been a very warm and welcoming place, but the paint on the outside… it’s incredibly shabby looking.”
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