Shorter walls are in for 2019, but defensive architecture is still defensive architecture

On October 24, 2019, Victoria City Council will consider a report about whether one of the Pandora Avenue fences will stay up. Specifically, this fence for giants, at the back of Portland Hotel Society’s Johnson Street Residence:

The fence went up in January 2017 to displace people using the space between the sidewalk and the building, as well as a stairwell on the property.

Now, nearly three years later (as reported by Vic News), the fence is back in the news! The City has decided it’s grouchy about the fence all of a sudden, not because it’s a disgusting testament to the anti-poor defensive architecture the city has normalized, but because, wouldn’t you know it, it’s just too darned tall. And too spiky — after all this time they don’t care for its “spear-like tips,” either.

Vic News says that city fences are supposed to be “under 1.22 metres, without spikes.” Sure, you can displace people — but be discreet about it why don’t you.

Asking to keep the castle intact, an engineering firm pointed out that, hey, the comically oversized fence that keeps out movie monsters or whatever totally matches the bricks!

Text reads: 1. Black fencing is a commonly used and classic combination with brick-clad buildings in Victoria and we believe it integrates with the building design and architectural finishes.

And in case that wasn’t enough to keep the fence intact, they also tattle on the neighbours with the old classic, “But the church did it first!”

Text reads: 4. The fence design is similar to fencing installed at the neighbouring Central Baptist Church (833 Pandora) which we believe integrates this fence with the surrounding buildings and fences.

Heck yeah, integrate these gross fences! And would you just look at the combination of the brick-clad building with the black fencing? It’s like you can’t even see the hate.

Central Baptist Church and Wall cited as precedent for the Portland Hotel Society fence.

That line of logic — “our defensive architecture is the same as the defensive architecture you allowed down the block!” — is exactly the type of nonsense that comes from normalizing this trash.

Sure, the church went first when they installed their spiky fence that helped inspire this blog. But that fence never should have gone up, either, and this one should come down and stay down. Whether it’s an eight-foot fence with spikes or a four-foot fence without, it doesn’t change the intent to displace.

Update (October 24, 2019): Council voted to “engage the applicant” about putting a “time limitation” on the existing fence, i.e. letting it stay up for a number of years; they will hear back from staff on or by November 14, 2019. Mayor Helps spoke against having the fence changed or removed, saying it’s covered up by the trees. Councillor Thornton-Joe advocated for updating the fence bylaw to allow for taller fences to allow people to keep out deer and to “protect their property.” Councillor Isitt said they “shouldn’t accept a substandard design treatment that our staff have described as fortress-like” for the sole reason that it’s social housing.