Neighbours of a Burnaby property that the City of Burnaby has had to clean up twice – billing the homeowner in return – fear it’s only a matter of time when it happens again.
City of Burnaby staff asked council in September for permission to go in and clean up an unsightly property of “filth” after numerous complaints from neighbours and little action from the homeowners, said a city report.
This was the second time the city has had to do this for the home, which is located on Nithsdale Street.
Multiple neighbours contacted the NOW about the situation.
“We’ve seen some jaw-dropping filth,” one neighbour told the NOW. “We’ve complained over and over and it keeps happening. We shouldn’t have to put up with this. I appreciate that the city is taking action, but the process just takes so long. Our tax dollars shouldn’t have to pay staff to constantly inspect this place.”
The staff report said the city has received multiple complaints going back to 2008, with 12 inspections being conducted by city staff just since 2018.
Inspections have discovered the following:
- Overgrown grass, weeds, vines and blackberry bushes
- Discarded items including, but not limited to, cardboard boxes, plastic bags, kitchenware, lumber, insulation, luggage, and bags of garbage, plus various electronic items
- An unlicensed and possibly derelict vehicle. A derelict vehicle is considered any vehicle that is uninsured for highway use and is inoperable. There have been a total of five unsightliness complaints against the property since 2008, received from three different people, said the report.
As a result of complaints received in 2008 and 2011, council approved a staff recommendation to have city staff clean the property. The property was cleaned in 2012. Since cleaning the site in 2012, three additional complaints have been received.
The staff report details various attempts to speak with the property owner in the past three years, with middling success, as well as a series of bylaw violation notices being issued, with not all of them being paid.
The report says that in August, the city informed the property owner that if the property wasn’t brought into compliance, it would be cleaned up by the city at the owner’s expense. An invoice will be issued to the homeowner and if it isn’t paid, it will be charged onto the owner’s property tax bill.
This is actually the second time in recent months that the city has had to clean up an unsightly property. A property on Georgia Street was cited by city staff back in the summer.
