The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Flin Flon city council is poised to crack down on an unsightly and hazardous consequence of depopulation. A planned bylaw will give the city new tools to ensure abandoned or dilapidated homes are properly maintained and, in some cases, taken over by the municipality and demolished. 'We're going to start dealing with some derelict buildings in Flin Flon,' said Coun. Ken Pawlachuk in introducing first reading of the bylaw at last week's council meeting. 'That's the basis of the whole thing.' Officially known as the Vacant and Derelict Buildings By-Law, the decree would 'regulate the condition of vacant and derelict buildings' and 'discourage the boarding of vacant buildings.' It passed first reading at last week's council meeting. It could pass a second and third, and final, reading as early as this Tuesday, Sept. 17, at which point it would become law. The by-law would give the city clear authority to declare a building derelict and potentially assume ownership, even if it is occupied by tenants. The most obvious criteria for terming a building as derelict are structural flaws that pose safety concerns, but there are other considerations. The by-law includes a 'scoring system' whereby a building can be labeled derelict if it violates, to a sufficient degree, rules relating to things such as fire safety and occupant well-being. Once a building is declared derelict, the owner is given a notice and an opportunity to fix the problems. If that is ignored, a second notice is given. Finally, the city would formally make a filing to assume control of the property title, a process that is subject to appeal by the owner. 'The whole process takes the better part of a year,' said Mark Kolt, chief administrative officer for the city. 'You want to give people every opportunity to fix whatever needs to be fixed before you (take over a property).' Kolt said the by-law addresses properties that may still be inhabited, in part to deter landlords who might rent substandard apartments to tenants so desperate for housing that they are willing to look the other way. The city is not out to force people from their homes, he said, noting that council would have discretion on how to proceed in cases where the owner of a home lives there and has limited financial resources. 'It's not a lockstep process where you're automatically forced to do things in a certain time,' Kolt said. Another component of the by-law discourages people who have abandoned their buildings from simply boarding them up as a means of securing the properties. The by-law includes permit fees of $1,000 for people who wish to board up their homes. Commercial building owners would pay $2,000 for their first permit, and more for additional permits. If a building must sit vacant, the city prefers it be secured through other means, such as frosted windows and functional doors that are kept locked. 'A boarded up house sends a message to anybody who happens to be in the neighbourhood,' Kolt said. '...that this is a neighbourhood where people are moving away, there's no one around who cares, no one who watches what's going on. Typically the boarding up of houses is a step on the way toward a deterioration of a neighbourhood.' But Kolt acknowledged that even with the lengthy by-law in place, the city would face challenges in terms of derelict buildings. 'I think the definition of whether a building is derelict varies from month to month, from week to week in some cases,' he said, 'and even under this bylaw I think it's still going to be sort of a fluid thing, that there will always be places that are just a step ahead of the law...and others (where) so many things are wrong at once that they could potentially be in trouble.' Coun. Bill Hanson estimated that there are currently 30 to 40 derelict buildings in Flin Flon. He first spoke of the new by-law being in the planning stages in July of 2012. 'It's very aggressive and it's not going to make some people happy,' he said at a council meeting at that time. Kolt said the by-law took more than a year to finalize because of its length and the need to ensure it complies with provincial laws. The new by-law is inspired to a large degree by the City of Winnipeg's policy on derelict properties.
