Looks like I spoke too soon. The neighbour is back and there are two vehicles back in the yard. There’s no power at the property so I wonder if he’s here to stay or not. Celebrating too early is obviously not a good thing.
OK. It is over.
I got a phone call last night from Bylaw. They inspected the property and found no evidence of hazardous wastes on the site across the street. So, with the property mostly cleaned, the hazardous wastes removed and the neighbour moved out, I guess all that’s left is to see what new tenants move in. After 2 years with a recycling company/junk dealer, followed by a crack house, followed by 2 1/2 years with another recycling company, I don’t have high hopes but am willing to be pleasantly surprised.
After all of this, I have two notes. I must admit that Bylaw went out of their way to help while YTG, to the level of the Premier, weren’t interested in doing anything at all. I have a sneaking suspicion that the neighbour being a friend of a senior Yukon Party official might be related as my late next door neighbour suggested. The second point is that the Maintenance and Zoning bylaws are a mess and need serious revision to make them enforceable. I think, after I feel a bit better, I’ll go back to council and see if they’re willing to consider this. In their shoes, I would. After all, if there are all of these legal impediments to enforcing these bylaws, there are probably as many in enforcing the Property Tax bylaw…
I think it’s over, more or less
After more than two years, our neighbour has finally cleaned his lot. It’s not totally done, as there are still two junker cars left; however, these are sitting at the very back of the property and hard to see.
And, an even better note: there were several people there today with a pickup moving furniture from the house. Most of us on the street seem to consider this a good sign.
However, it’s now time to see if the Environment Department will inspect and clear the property, as well as rescinding the permit to store hazardous wastes. Not that I expect them to actually do their job, but, I’m allowed to be optimistic…
Cleanup commences
Success! The city was going to send the Public Works crew to clean the property across the street but they may not have to. A neighbour has been hired to clean the property for the renter. He’s already booked a tow truck to get all the vehicles and remove them. The neighbour has been gone somewhere for months and his boarders who were staying there left when the power was cut off a few weeks ago so the place has been deserted. Now, at least it will be a bit better to look at, although God knows what’s been spilled on the property. I think we’ll ask the Department of the Environment to rescind the hazardous waste storage permit based on the fact he’s abandoned the property and get an inspection done.
Gee. It’s only taken two and a half years…
Quick Progress Report
I do have a few things to report of across the street. If you read the newspaper article, you would notice that he’s been hiding from the city who have been trying to serve papers on him for over a year. They haven’t been able to catch his daughter, who lives in Alberta and is the actual owner of the property for over two.
The night before last, the city caught up to the neighbour. He was served with papers that state that in a few weeks, the city is coming to clean the property to their standards and billing him and the property owner for the cost. Why do I picture that six or so city workers making $30+/hr in wages in benefits for hours on end to run up quite a tidy sum as being far worse than actually keeping your property up?
Now I’m wondering when my surgery will be. After all, this is a form of entertainment I would rather not miss and it would the first time in over two years that you could sit on my bedroom balcony and not be disgusted by the trash across the street.
So, kudos to the city for the achievement. Sadly, the Department of the Environment is apparently not so capable…
Press Coverage
The Yukon News has picked up the story on the hazardous waste site across the street. There should be something in today’s paper. The photographer was over early this morning to get a shot of me for it. Why didn’t I get my hair cut yesterday when it occurred to me…
I waiting to hear back from Paul Watson at the Toronto Star, as well.
No positive results here
Well, that didn’t work.
I received an e-mail yesterday from Jon Bowen, who is the Director of Environmental Protection for the Department of the Environment, writing in response for the Premier. It was interesting in itself in that Mr. Bowen’s somewhat beaurocratic response to the issuing of a hazardous waste storage permit in the middle of a residential neighbourhood was part of the reason why I was complaining to the Premier.
Mr. Bowen offered to set up a meeting with himself and several department officials, as well as inviting the Bylaw Department of the city, since the approach of YTG is that the city should take action even though they were the ones who issued the permit. I responded that, since it was vacation time, I probably could not get all the neighbours notified of the meeting but would try to get as many as we could. I also stated that we would probably have legal counsel and may be inviting the press.
Mr. Bowen’s response was, sadly, that the offer of a meeting was extended to me personally and that, since the department was looking at this, they would not extend this to a public meeting. I’m presuming that the “me personally” thing probably meant he really didn’t want my lawyer present, either.
So, I’ve notified the local press and am preparing a press briefing kit with copies of all the correspondence. I’m also getting ready to get in touch with a few people at the Toronto Star who have an interest in some of our interesting governmental machinations. And, remember the lawyer thing…
No answer to my letter yet
I still have yet to hear from the Premier on my request for action regarding the storage of hazardous wastes across the street. I believe he is actually out of town this week, so I will probably give him a bit more time to provide a substantive solution for this before we go to the national press. Although, I would have assumed I would have received an acknowledgement from his executive assistant, who probably would be the one reading and dealing with his e-mails anyway. It would, at the very least, have been the polite thing to do.
Also, the city is workiing on action to clean the lot. That being said, it’s been in the hands of the legal department for several weeks…
An open letter to Premier Darrell Pasloski
Darrell:
We are writing to see if some action can be taken in the issuance of a hazardous waste storage permit to Double Cross Motors, 15 Maple Street, in Whitehorse.
The fact that this permit was issued, in the middle of a residential neighbourhood, has been confirmed by the minister’s office and the Director of Environmental Protection, Jon Bowen.
We have been aware of this situation since the 3rd of June and, to this date, the department has not rescinded the permit and had the property cleaned to appropriate environmental regulations. The reason given is, despite the fact that the department issued the permit without even checking where the property was located, that the regulations have no consideration for removing a permit. According to Jon Bowen, “We continue to pursue options for resolution of this issue in light of the fact that we cannot unilaterally rescind/reissue a permit even if an “administrative error” was made. There is a legal process in the Act for cancellation of a permit and that is the process we must follow; there is no “shortcut”.”
You may wish to remind him that, if he is worried about the legal ramifications of just arbitrarily removing the permit and ordering the property cleaned, he may more wish to consider the legal ramifications of issuing the permit through gross negligence and incompetence of his department. We are not willing to allow these unacceptable situation to continue much longer and wish that something be done within a very short period of time.
—
Doug Rutherford
Whitehorse, YT, Canada
Still nothing on the hazardous waste site across the street
We discovered on the 3rd of June that the neighbour across the street had licensed the property for storage of hazardous wastes. To this point, there has still been absolutely no action taken to remove his hazardous waste storage permit. This has been in the hands of both the Territorial Government and the city and neither seems legally capable of dealing with the situation.
To say that we are frustrated is understatement. I see the surgeon on Thursday afternoon so I have no idea of what my schedule will be for next week. That being said, it is time to go back to city council and rattle their chains. Yes, council has been emailed the details on this situation so they are aware… or at least as aware as they are physically capable of being. Yes, the head of bylaw services has also notified them that they are required to take action. It is time to get a lawyer and take some more direct action if this does not have the desired effect.
The neighbour, by the way, has not been seen at the house for a while. His garbage is still there but it looks like two youngsters living there at the moment. I think they are two of his employees but I’m not sure on that. The only thing we are sure of is that neither YTG or city council offers much in the way of competence…
Doug Rutherford 