Saint John councillors urge owners of vacant buildings to show some responsibility

Saint John councillorssay they want to see owners of the city's vacant, andin some casesdilapidated, buildings take responsibility for their properties, after voting to demolish a rundown four-unit residential building.

"I feel like if you can't look after your property, somebody will be ready to buy your property,"Coun. Paula Radwansaid at a council meeting on Monday night.

The building they voted to demolish isthree storeys and locatedin the city's south end on Duke Street near Wentworth Street. It suffers from cracks, tears, mould and other types of damageto its structure, ceilings, floors and walls, both inside and out.

Radwan expressed frustration at the battered state of the property.

"We have a housing crisis," she said."If you have one of these properties and it's looking something like this, get a hold of a real estate agent if you're not going to do anything with it, because this is costing taxpayers money."

The recommendation to demolish the building was brought before council by Justin Tinker, manager of the city's vacant and dangerous buildings program, who said the property poses a danger to public safety.

"A section of the building, particularly the west load-bearing wall, has separated from the foundation, presenting a risk of failure," he said.

"Several wall and ceiling surfaces have cracked and bulged, and stairwells in the vicinity of the west exterior wall have tilted inward. The building continues to experience water infiltration that further deteriorates the structure."

While the building has been boarded up, Tinker said, it has been broken into andused to provide shelter.

Tinker told council during his presentation that there are roughly 150 vacant properties in the city.

"So far this yearthe program has resolved 29 cases, with nearly three quarters of those buildings being repaired and reoccupied by owners," he said.

"However, in some cases, it does become necessary for staff to pursue demolition of a vacant building when it becomes a hazard to public safety."

Radwan praised the work being done by the city's staff but said these buildings are a drain on city resources.

"There's no need for it anymore,because somebody is ready to buy a house, to buy any vacant land," she said."This is totally unacceptable. If you can't look after your property, sell it."

According to a staff report to council, the owner of the Duke Street building vacated it in 2023. The safety concerns, the report says, were identified by the city's minimum property standards program, which enforces standards for maintenance and occupancy of the city's residential buildings.

The report says a notice to comply was sent to the building owner in January, giving them 60 days to demolish the building or submit plans for repairs.

The owner, the report says, determined thatthe building wasn't salvageable and planned to demolish it and rebuild in its place. The owner, however, missed deadlines, prompting the city to take over.

The property's assessed value is $258,000 according to the staff report. Demolishing it is expected to cost$55,000.

'I think there's a social responsibility here'

Coun. Barry Ogden echoedRadwan, urging owners to take responsibility for their properties andavoid using up staff time and taxpayer money.

"If we're chasing somebody and they don't respond because they don't care, there is an economic cost to that,and it's tax dollars," Ogden said.

These buildings have a negative impact on communitiesand that these owners are neglecting their social responsibility, he said.

"There is a tremendous good feeling in communities when the buildings are painted or the grass is cut," Ogden said.

"We have people in Saint John who do not do that, and sometimes we have to chase them. But it does deteriorate a community when somebody doesn't paint their building, doesn't cut their grass [and]allows this to happen, so I think there's a social responsibility here."

BennPurinton, manager of community standards compliance, said in an interview with CBC News after the common council meeting that the city is on track to "resolve" about 60 vacant buildings by the end of the year.

"Last year, we resolved 47," Purinton said."We're on pace to exceed that number. The target of our program was to hit about 60."