Abandoned site of Vancouver mansion demolished by owner's ex declared a 'public nuisance'

The abandoned construction site at the centre of a contentious lawsuit between its rightful owner, her ex-husband and the City of Vancouver has been declared a public nuisance.

Councillors voted to approve the declaration Wednesday morning, giving city staff the right to clean up the lot at 6289 Carnarvon St. without the owner's permission if it isn't taken care of.

The home that used to stand on the property was demolished more than three years ago. Since then, a single construction crane has been left on the edge of an excavation sitethat fills with water after a rainy day.

City staff say the site was not designed to be left like this for an extended period of time, and have issued two orders demanding the owner deal with the situation.

Both orders were ignored. Wednesday's vote means the owner has 60 days to remove the crane and fill in the hole. If she fails to do that, the city's chief building inspector will be allowed to "take any and all steps necessary" to remedy the situation, including hiring contractors fix up the site.

Once a modernist mansion

The property is owned by Jin Fang Li and used to be the site of a 10,000-square foot mansion designed by influential modernist architect Daniel Evan White. Li claims she planned to fix up the place and move in with her daughter, and she obtained building permits to complete extensive renovations.

But the house was torn down in 2015 after Li's estranged husband, Shen Yun Dong, obtained a demolition permit. Documents obtained by CBC show that Vancouver city workers issued the permit without a crucial signature from the rightful owner.

In a lawsuit filed in 2016, Li alleges Dong conspired to have the mansion demolished while she was out of the country. She has accused the city of negligence for approving a permit without her signed approval.