Google's Kevin Rose upsets Portland neighbors with home demolition

This home built in 1892 has caused a conflict between Google Ventures partner Kevin Rose and his neighbors. Save the Rose House petition

San Francisco isn't the only city experiencing a techie backlash -- it appears some Portlanders are also getting up in arms over uber-rich entrepreneurs' spending whims.

A neighborhood group in the Willamette Heights section of Portland, Ore., has started a Change.org petition to try to get Digg founder and Google Ventures partner Kevin Rose to change his mind about demolishing a 122-year-old home.

Rose and his wife Dayra bought the home in February and reportedly said they only planned to remodel it. So, their neighbors were surprised when it was learned the house was actually slated to be demolished.

"At seemingly lightning pace, it appears that you notified the City of Portland that you were withdrawing the house from the City's landmark inventory, applied for a permit to build a new house on the site, and obtained a permit to demolish the house," the petition reads. "Because you withdrew the house from the landmark inventory, you were no longer obligated to give public notice of the intended demolition, nor were you required to delay the demolition so that neighbors' comments could be received."

The neighbors are asking Rose to either keep the house and remodel it or sell it to someone else who values the historic home.

"We hope to convince you that there's a better prospect for the future," the petition reads. "The alternative would be terrible. We see neighborhood protests and calls to action. And ultimately, likely, we see destruction, and a new house. Nice as it might be, it stands out oddly in the neighborhood. There's a family there, sometimes, but they don't enjoy the neighborhood, as they don't interact with it. And there's something lost: old structure, old bones, history, and community."

Upon learning of his new neighbors' complaints, Rose wrote a response in the comments section of the petition. He said that he'd always intended a "major remodel" with plans on "making it more contemporary." Historical restoration was "never our intention," he said.

Rose said that after an architect and contractor inspected the property and assured him that "there is nothing historically significant" about the house, he asked that it be removed from the historic inventory list. He also said the cost of remodeling the home was far too expensive.

"After the inspections we were properly alerted to several areas that needed to be addressed. Electrical, plumbing, foundation/basement work, and asbestos," Rose wrote. "The costs were higher than we anticipated, and we knew we could never recoup that kind of money on a 100 year-old house."

Read the original:
Google's Kevin Rose upsets Portland neighbors with home demolition