The City of Castlegar has begun the process of taking remedial action against the owner of a dilapidated property on Castlegar's main thoroughfare.
The community charter allows city council to take action when things attached to a structure are deemed unsafe, when a building is considered a nuisance or when it is considered to be so dilapidated or unclean that it is an offense to the community. According to a report and photographic evidence presented to council by the director of development services Phil Markin, the house at 1067 Columbia Ave. meets all of these criteria and complaints have been made by both residents and visitors alike about the property.
The residence, formerly used as a four-plex has been vacant since 2013 and has boarded up windows and doors, which is in contravention of the city's property maintenance bylaw. The stairs and landings are also in a deteriorated and unsafe condition. Other problems include areas where the floor is in danger of collapse, mould, the leaking roof causing ceiling failure, debris and garbage throughout, a broken water line and water running steadily into the basement and the fire separation being compromised. The water to the property was turned off when the inspection revealed the water line problem.
In its current state, if the building were to be occupied it would be in contravention of fire and building code regulations. There is also a concern that should unauthorized persons access the building there would be many safety risks.
Buta Nannan, a resident of Alberta is listed as the registered owner on the city's supporting documents. This is not the first time the owner has been contacted about the condition of the building, the city has been corresponding with Nannan for 34 years trying to get him to maintain the building and property. In 2013 when the owner was contacted about the situation, he told the city he had intentions to repair and reoccupy the building. No serious attempts have been made since then and the building has deteriorated significantly since, in spite of continued correspondence, warnings and municipal tickets issued by the city.
The owner will be given 60 days to either remove the covering on the windows and entrances and replace them with windows and doors, replace the exterior cladding where it is deteriorated, replace the roof, paint the exterior and repair the stairs or to demolish and remove the building and fill in and level any hole created by the removal.