City council has given resident Linda Cooney one more chance to fix up her property at 560 Stadacona Street West, which has sat in disrepair for the past five years.
A fire ripped through the home on July 30, 2015, destroying the building and leaving a water-damaged floor and basement. While the municipal building inspector ordered that those parts be demolished, Cooney claimed she planned to rebuild on the existing foundation.
City hall recorded 11 times during the next five years where it either issued demolition orders or had Cooney say she would do something. The building inspector issued another property maintenance order on Sept. 23, 2020, demanding that Cooney demolish the foundation since it had been exposed to the weather, was not in compliance with the property maintenance bylaw, posed a safety risk, and was the subject of yearly neighbourhood complaints.
Cooney appealed, but the inspector recommended that it be denied.
City administration recommended during the Oct. 19 regular city council meeting that council uphold the demolition order, and that upon expiration of the order, the municipality hire a contractor to remove the foundation, backfill the pit, and charge all costs to Cooney.
However, council voted 6-1 to give Cooney a 30-day extension to Nov. 19 to address her property, as long as she paid a $2,500 non-refundable deposit that could be refunded if city hall is satisfied with an engineer’s report about the existing basement and if she acquires a building permit to construct a new home.
Coun. Dawn Luhning was opposed.
Presentation
Cooney explained that she had financial problems during the past five years, but they were now in order and she had started to fix the foundation. While municipal engineers told her to hire a structural engineer to evaluate the basement, she saw no point since she hadn’t planned to build immediately.
“I lived in that house for many years, and it’s very sentimental to me,” she said.
She has now hired a structural engineer and an architect, while she will start working on the foundation this fall. She could build a new home in the spring.
“I got an engineer’s report and I have it here … ,” she added, holding up the document. “The structural engineer said my basement is fine (on which) to rebuild.”
Council discussion
If Cooney was serious about rebuilding on the existing foundation, she would need a building permit, structural plans, and floor plans, and would need to give those to city hall, explained building official Virginia Shepley. Since there has been no activity for several years, Shepley also wanted a firm construction timeline, not something city hall usually requests.
These are difficult decisions that council must handle since they involve people and money, said Coun. Heather Eby. Not only do they affect one property owner, they also affect the neighbourhood and community.
“The tendency would be, like, ‘Let’s just extend it a little bit longer and another chance and another chance,’ but these are very, very difficult decisions,” she added, “and people who look at city council … (as a rubber stamp body), these are hard decisions (and) I’m not sure where to land on this.”
There have been several remedy orders since 2015, while this poorly maintained property has also affected the neighbourhood, said Luhning. These might be difficult decisions, but council must make them.
Coun. Brian Swanson explained that he remembered Cooney appearing before council before. He noted that council is not focused on taking away property unless necessary, but there is a history with this issue. However, he understood how important the property was to her.
The next regular council meeting is Monday, Nov. 16.
