Prince George city council has suspended the business licence for the Willows Inn on Victoria Street for one year.
Previously known as the Ranch Motel and the Homeland Inn, the business has been frequently visited by police over the last few years for various infractions by its residents.
Council made its decision Thursday after a hearing to consider evidence from city bylaw officers, police and firefighters who wanted the site shut down.
City staff had suggested a six-month suspenion but owner Phil Danyluk had appealed the decision. After hearing the evidence, city councillors unanimously overturned the six-month suspension and made it a year instead.
Danyluk told The Citizen on Friday that he was reviewing the decision and would have comments about his future plans early next week.
During his testimony he stressed that he had put significant money and efforts into refurbishing the complex in recent months, evict the problem tenants and to replace a series of motel managers who allowed the degradation to occur without his knowledge because he spends only about half of his time in Prince George.
He admitted that at its peak of dysfunction, he would not have peace of mind if he spent the night in his own motel.
Mayor Shari Green said Danyluk was fully responsible for the degradation of the motel to the point it attracted police 251 times since he purchased the place in 2011, as well as a major fire, and numerous bylaw breaches.
It's not the first time he has had a business licence suspended, although Danyluk said it was, when questioned. When the city's legal counsel asked him if he owned or managed other properties in Prince George, he said yes and named them, omitting one, the London Hotel on Third Avenue.
He admitted to Green moments later that indeed he did own the London Hotel and he recently had that business license suspended for similar contraventions.
"He gave false testimony. His personal behaviour towards enforcement staff and the people of Prince George, his business behaviour, his disregard for the peace of this city was all unacceptable," Green said. "This sends a strong message to others, and if the seriousness of this situation wasn't clear enough to him Thursday morning, it certainly was by the end of the day."
The one-year suspension comes also with an order to pay a $10,000 bond refundable only when compliance has been met for all structural/safety bylaws and codes, and municipal business plan disclosures. The suspension takes effect on June 1, allowing Residential Tenancy Act rules for eviction to be met. Green also said the property would be scrutinized for any attempts to sell the operation to a proxy or shell company.
"I feel such heartache for people who have, through a number of circumstances in their life, find themselves having to choose that place to lay their head at night," said Green.
She estimated the cost to the taxpayer for police attendance, fire and ambulance attendance, bylaw and inspector attention, added up to more than $500,000.
Danyluk may appeal to the courts for a judicial review of the suspension process. He could also petition the courts for allowing him to keep the motel open while the judicial review is underway.
