By Owen Munro/Hope Standard
While the Trans-Canada Highway is often a road going through the heart of British Columbia’s scenic beauty, but just as you cross the Fraser River and come over the hill into Hope, there are two eyesores the District of Hope wants to deal with.
At the Tuesday, Feb. 14 council meeting, councillors and the mayor agreed to give a deadline for the property owner at 489 and 508 Trans-Canada Highway to clean up a dilapidated building and a closed-down gas station across the street.
The district has given Richard Madison until April 30 to put some plan for remediation in place, or face legal action in the form of a demolition order.
Mayor Wilfried Vicktor said the nuisance properties have been that way for over a year, and despite repeated conversations with the owner to clean them up, nothing has been done.
“The district has tried to work with the property owner over time to resolve the very obvious issues, and he’s shown no interest in working with the district,” Vicktor said, saying he would prefer not to take legal action, but is being required to in this case.
“There’s just no recognition that this is a problem for the community,” he said.
Vicktor said that in prior meetings with Madison, he has made a commitment to making some sort of upgrades, but backed out each time.
If Madison fails to remediate the properties by the deadline, staff will be authorized to proceed with demolishing the structures. The report states that some of the action that will need to be taken include “pressure wash the outside of the building and paint the entire exterior in natural earth tones ... removal of moss off the roof and re-roof the building in a more durable material.”
Madison would then be required to pay for the expenses accrued by staff in accordance with Section 17 of the Community Charter.