Posted Jan 3, 2009, 4:44 PM
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Join Date: May 2007
Location: Hamilton
Posts: 3,050
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In today's Spec:
Quote:
City toughens inspections on idle buildings
Nicole Macintyre
The Hamilton Spectator
(Jan 3, 2009)
The city is launching quarterly inspections of vacant buildings in hopes of preventing future collapses and spurring redevelopment.
"We're taking a proactive approach," said John Spolnik, director the building services.
The new inspection system, which heads for council approval this month, was sparked by the collapse of the Balfour building on King William Street last April.
Currently, Hamilton depends on public complaints to point it to unsafe buildings.
It's the same approach taken by all large Ontario municipalities. Now the city plans to inspect about 75 known vacant buildings every three months.
When buildings are found open to trespassers or the elements, the city will order immediate repairs. If the owners don't comply, the city will complete the work and add the cost to the property tax bill.
Spolnik expects the aggressive approach and resulting expenses will force some owners to take a hard look at buildings they may have left sitting for years.
"I'm hopeful it will stimulate the reuse of the buildings."
But he's also aware that some owners may chose to demolish their properties instead. That's likely to spark concern when many of the city's vacant buildings have heritage value.
"It's not going to be very popular with some people, but it can't go on," said downtown Councillor Bob Bratina, noting there's just not a market to support redevelopment of all the city's old buildings.
"That's too bad, but there's too many buildings that aren't viable."
The city has been lucky no one has been injured or died because of the state of Hamilton derelict buildings, he added.
"We really need to get on this," Bratina said, noting the recent snowfall and thaw only makes the situation more dangerous. "Building are going to start collapsing."
Dozens of downtown residents and business owners packed council chambers last spring to demand that the city enforce its property standards bylaw in the wake of the Balfour collapse.
Dave Kuruc, owner of Mixed Media and co-organizer of the protest, is pleased to see the city proposing a proactive approach, but says the proof will be in the execution.
"It's one thing to say they'll do it, but will they actually do it?" he said, noting he's becoming increasingly frustrated with the city's lack of enforcement.
"We're a downtown core full of modern ruins."
While many property owners on James Street are investing in their properties to help with downtown revitalization, Kuruc notes there are just as many who are content to sit on their vacant buildings waiting for their payday.
"We're the ones who are being penalized."
In recent years the city has allowed buildings damaged by fire to remain with open roofs and missing windows. Spolnik points to an old building on James Street North at Vine Street as an example.
The building, former home to a flower shop and apartments, was damaged by fire more than a decade ago, but it was water leakage that eventually made the building unsafe. The city ordered it torn down last year.
If the city forces buildings to be secure and protected, Spolnik believes it will stop further decay, which will limit the risk to public safety and potentially save the properties.
"We don't want the buildings to get to that state."
It's impossible to know if the new protocol would have prevented the Balfour collapse, he said. Legally the city can only inspect the outside of the buildings unless they have strong evidence it is unsafe and no one knows if the Balfour was showing outside damage.
Even with the new protocol, which the city plans to enforce with its current staff, there could be another collapse from hidden damage, Spolnik added.
"It will not ensure that every building in the city is safe."
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