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This derelict property on 101 Street is planned to be demolished. (Submitted photo/City of North Battleford)
Community safety

City upholds demolition order for derelict property

Nov 30, 2020 | 11:08 AM

The City of North Battleford is continuing with its work to address long-standing derelict properties in the community.

Council upheld a demolition order for a house at 1461-101 Street at its recent meeting.

After discussing the issue, members ultimately agreed it was in the best interests to have the building taken down for safety reasons.

“Obviously, there are always differences of opinion, but at the end of the day we had a vote, and we decided as a group to uphold the demolition order,” Mayor David Gillan said.

According to the building inspector’s report, the house received little maintenance over the years and was in a “severely sub-standard” condition. The property was found to not meet building standards, and have significant electrical and plumbing issues, among the concerns.

The two-storey older building contained three separate rental residential suites, two of which were vacated. Authorities previously ordered the remaining occupant to leave the premises as the property was to be placarded.

While the property owner, Zia Homes Ltd., appealed the demolition order, asking to extend the deadline of the order to Dec. 15, it was essentially a case of too little too late for the city.

Gillan said there was a long history on the property.

“The city has been trying to work with this owner to get this property renovated to code for some time,” he said.

Council discussed the need for the city to develop some long term policy to address a number of derelict properties in the city.

angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsNOW

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