Slum motel to remain closed
The business license suspension deadline on the Connaught Motor Inn has come and gone with none of the 15 conditions fully met.
City council closed the inn’s doors for three months, until Oct. 1, or the city is satisfied the long list of fixes are complete.
“Those conditions have not been met and the licence will therefore remain suspended,” said city bylaw services manager Fred Crittenden.
There’s still a host of other issues the Connaught will have to address, including a safety plan, a security camera system, its fire alarm systems with smoke alarms and portable extinguishers in the rights spots and repair of any fire wall separations. It also needs to submit a business operating plan, an inspection report from a structural engineer and a review of its electrical systems.
“We’re not aware that any have been fully met at all,” said Crittenden, adding staff have seen some documents about the structural integrity of the building but inspectors asked for further clarification.
The suspension came into effect July 1 after a May vote to give tenants enough time to find a place to say.
The inn had become a hotbed for criminal activity, apparent in the 700 RCMP calls to the location in a year-and-a-half. Staff also told council that since November
(The conditions are) all crucial to ensure that the facility is safe and that the city feels confident that the building is capable of having a business license.
2012, WorkSafeBC has fined the inn more than $60,000 for either repeat or continuing violations, most of them related to a risk of violence to staff.
The inn has almost 100 suites and all must be repaired and approved for occupancy before being allowed to reopen.
The city has also asked that all rooms be checked for pesticides, fertilizers, toxic chemicals, mould and fungi, and asked for written certification the property is in compliance Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) principles.
Big ticket items include anything flagged by structural engineers, the electrical and plumbing systems as well fire safety.
“They’re all crucial to ensure that the facility is safe and that the city feels confident that the building is capable of having a business license,” Crittenden said.
When given the chance to speak before council in May, owner Joe Carhoun said he would no longer accept monthly tenants and planned to install a six-foot high fence around the property’s perimeter.
A Connaught Motor Inn spokesperson could not be reached for comment this week.
The May decision came a little more than two years after council suspended the neighbouring Willow Inn’s business licence over similar concerns.
— with files from Mark Nielsen