The city is taking action on a seemingly abandoned downtown property that was the site of a fire last month.
On May 29, fire crews snuffed out a blaze they deemed suspicious at 525 George St. (next door to the former Ric's Grill).
What they initially thought was a grassfire turned out to coming from behind a plywood facade in an old basement used by homeless people.
Municipal and provincial legislation allow the city to take action on private property that has been declared a nuisance.
According to a staff report from council, a building on the property was heavily damaged by fire several years ago, leaving a fenced-off foundation.
While the RCMP have attended the property 14 times since 2007, the city wasn't called to check it out until April of this year. Since mid-April, bylaw services has made six visits to secure the property, check out complaints of people accessing the site, and to replace the wooden barricade with a security fence.
Attempts by the city to reach the property owner to have the site dealt with have so far gone unanswered.
If the property owner - identified as 421 Holdings Ltd. - doesn't respond and do it themselves, the city will demolish the damaged structure, including the foundation, remove all debris, fill in the opening in the ground and level the site.
Costs would be added to the owner's property taxes.
The city is also considering imposing remedial action on a home at 1451 North Blackburn Rd. that has been the subject of multiple complaints over the accumulation of junk and debris.
While early attempts were made to clean up the property after the city sent notices in 2010 and 2011, there hasn't been any indication in the past couple of years that registered property owner Mary-Ann Carter still has a vested interest.
