City of Powell River council upheld its 60-day deadline for the cleanup of a derelict Joyce Avenue property, after the owner of the lot requested an extension.
On December 15, city council declared the lot and buildings at 4468 Joyce Avenue a public nuisance and ordered the already partially wrecked house and garage demolished.
In addition, council ordered the surrounding lot, which is strewn with garbage, to be cleaned up by February 15 or the city will step in to complete the job and bill the owner.
“It’s time this council got a little backbone on dilapidated buildings that are causing health hazards throughout town,” said councillor Maggie Hathaway at the Thursday, January 19, council meeting.
The property owner, Surrey resident Rajinder Mann, attended the meeting to answer some questions about his written request for an extension to the cleanup order.
“That way, I can have a little more time to get some finances together,” Mann told council.
More than halfway through the 60-day order, Mann said he had not yet started looking around for quotes for the cleanup.
According to city director of planning Thomas Knight, on December 16, registered letters were sent to the company on title for the property, its last known company director and the provincial government, to inform them of city council’s decision. The company on title dissolved in 2002, at which time its assets came under control of the provincial government.
Mann, the former company’s principal, responded to council’s order in writing on December 23. Mann told council he is working on having the property put back into his name.
“I agree with council that the property needs to be demolished,” Mann’s letter stated. “It would help me if council would allow me a delay in the demolition until June 30.”
Knight said there is no evidence the provincial government has agreed to the request for an extension. He added that the province has no objection to the city proceeding with the remediation order as long as the recovery of charges go to Mann.
Mann added that by the end of June, he would be in a position to demolish the home himself and would not require the help of the city.
Planning services has been trying to work with Mann since last spring to clean the property up, but efforts to have council issue a remediation order sooner were hindered when it was discovered that the property’s municipal taxes were unpaid, Knight told council.
Last September, when Mann paid his taxes, he was again notified that the property was a problem and needed cleaning up, and again he asked for a half-year extension, said Knight.
In November, after an inspection from the city’s building inspector marked the property as a hazard and ordered that it not be entered, Mann again asked for another six months to clean it up, he added.
“It does not stop,” said Knight addressing council. “As staff, we have exhausted all our resources. Really, the direction needs to come from you on what action to take. That property is a disaster.”
