By Dominic Abassi

Petition urges City action on ‘horrendous’ Departure Bay eyesore

Mar 5, 2018 | 5:01 PM

NANAIMO — Some Departure Bay residents are fed up with a burned-out building they say is tarnishing “the gem of Nanaimo” and they’re calling on the City to take action.

A delegation appeared recently in front of Nanaimo Council and presented a petition signed by 133 area residents urging action to clean up the old Amrikko’s by the Sea building at 1400 Wingrove St. The building sits vacant after it was badly damaged in a 2013 fire.

“Departure Bay is known as the gem of Nanaimo. The way Amrikko’s is right now, it’s no gem,” neighbour Marty Roberts said. “There’s no respect for neighbours or anything else. People passing by say how disgusting it is.

“How long does this go on for? Do we have to stay looking at this for another 10 years?”

Senior bylaw enforcement officer Cheryl Kuczerski told NanaimoNewsNOW the City hired contractors to clean up the site in late February, after efforts by the owner were deemed unsatisfactory. She said they hauled out four bins of garbage, while graffiti clean up on the exterior walls was delayed until better weather. The owner will be billed for the work.

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Despite claims from neighbours of people getting inside and potentially squatting in the old restaurant, Kuczerski said there was no indication of that.

Councillors supported the delegation, ordering staff to return with a report with options for dealing with the derelict building.

“This property absolutely needs to be remedied…I see this as a health issue, I see it as a nuisance property, I see it as a derelict property, I see it as unsightly. I see it as expenditure to send bylaws down there, fire department and RCMP down there relentlessly,” coun. Bill Bestwick said.

Several councillors also said it pointed to the need for the City to have more tools at their disposal to deal with vacant or derelict properties. A staff report with a proposed bylaw to address that issue is in the works.

Meantime, Roberts believed a development permit application for the property is simply a stall tactic to avoid remedial action from the City.

After cancelling a permit application in 2016, a proposal for a three-storey mixed-use building was submitted in July 2017 by the building’s owner. While the City’s bylaw would require such a development to have 51 parking spaces, there are only 12 available onsite. The City’s design advisory panel accepted the application with the exception of the parking variance. The permit has yet to come before Council for approval.

Roberts said given the low assessed value of the building and its relatively small property tax bill, there’s little incentive for the owner to move forward with any development.

BC Assessment data showed the eight units at 1400 Wingrove have a combined assessed value of $314,000. Two nearby houses on Departure Bay Rd. are assessed at more than $550,000 each.

“We work very hard at keeping our property up and we spent a lot of money making it as such,” neighbour Hilary Harlow said. “But when you look at what we’re up against, it’s pretty horrendous.”

dom@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @domabassi