Sylvie Paillard
[email protected]
The District of 樱桃视频targeted yet another problem property this week, this time in Dentville. Numerous district agencies drew considerable attention on the morning of Tuesday (April 18) when a large Incident Command cube van and several RCMP vehicles surrounded the property on Buckley Avenue across the street from Howe Sound Secondary School.
"We know it [the property] has been identified by the community as an area of concern," said Mayor Ian Sutherland. "We're really making a concerted effort to clean up properties that are helping to encourage criminal activity." Two tow trucks, an excavator and a dump truck were brought in to remove 14 derelict cars and a few of the numerous squatters' shacks occupying the back of the large lot. The shacks were wired for electricity, which led municipal electrical inspectors to cut power to the property.
It took half an hour for the household's occupants to come out and face the RCMP and bylaw officers. One male resident observed appeared calm and cooperative. Officers also apparently awoke squatters who were living in several shacks, much of which abuts neighbouring properties. Neighbours who lined the sidewalk at Buckley Avenue Tuesday morning said they were happy to see the work being done.
Municipal staff gave owners and occupants several chances to clean up the lot, according to Cliff Doherty of Protective Services. But in early March, council had to resort to ordering a forced removal of the debris.
"We have building owners that, if they don't condone it, they certainly don't discourage illegal activities on their property," said Sutherland. "If they're not going to do it we're going to do it for them."
The clean up continued on Wednesday (April 19) and it won't be the last time residents will see problem properties being targeted, said Sutherland.
"I've asked our staff and the RCMP and the fire department something they do on a regular basis," he said.
"If we believe that we have a way to discourage people from doing criminal activity than we're going to take every mechanism to at the very least make their life miserable."
