Tidy up or pay up. A Lynn Valley homeowner has been told to clean up the mess in his yard or face consequences.
District of North Vancouver council voted Oct. 19 to impose a remedial action order on the owner of a home at 4592 Ramsay Rd. after he allowed years of junk to pile up outside.
“Staff has requested that the owner clean up the property but he has failed to do so despite extensive efforts and staff resources. The property falls short of reasonable community standards and is offensive to the community,” a district staff report states. “Numerous vehicles and trailers have not moved for years and are covered in debris and mould, tires sunken into the ground, unlicensed, inoperable, being used for storage and are clearly derelict.”
When a property becomes so unsightly or dangerous as to constitute a nuisance, councils often impose remedial action orders. Failing to comply with a remediation order can result in the municipality carrying out the work and billing the owner or adding the costs to their tax bill.
The property, which municipal documents show is owned by Richard Band, has been the subject of complaints going back 15 years, according to the staff report. In 2008, council passed a similar order for Band. Staff say he has been ticketed eight times since 2007, all of which remain unpaid, although two tickets were cancelled because of voluntary compliance.
Band now has until Nov. 20 to remove the mess before district staff do. The items they are prepared to pick up: tires, lawnmowers, vehicle batteries and parts, tools, tool boxes, buckets, ramps, shelving, cans, containers of unknown fluids, barbecues, tarps, scrap metal, broken ladders, cedar fence panels, stacks of boards, lumber, scaffolding, chains, cut firewood plus a white truck camper. There are also five broken down vehicles and three trailers on the property that will have to be removed, the report states.
There is also an accessory building on the property that has fallen into such disrepair it will have to be demolished or brought up to code, the report states.
