City takes a broom to trash-strewn alley
Crew cleans up garbage behind Knob Hill Plaza and will bill store owners
It’s a whole lot tidier today along the woeful alley behind the Knob Hill Plaza, but don’t bet on it staying that way.
We’ve written several times about chronic garbage problems on both sides of the venerable Eglinton Ave. E. strip mall. Tenants put out trash for pickup on the sidewalk without using bins, where it was torn apart by rodents and birds and scattered around the street and parking lot.
Things look a bit better after a cleanup of the front side in April by the city, along with some enforcement of rules. But nothing was done about the mess in the alley; dumpsters overflowing with food waste, piles of trash torn open and strewn by animals; old furniture, renovation waste and even oxygen cylinders illegally dumped.
We asked the city why the alley, which borders the backyards of homes on Century Dr., wasn’t cleaned up at the same time. We were told that solid waste management was in charge of the cleanup in front, and Municipal Licensing and Standards (MLS) enforces bylaws behind the stores.
Officials said the problem is due to a unique ownership model. Storefronts are individually owned, instead of leased from a sole plaza operator. The alley is divided into small strips, based on storefront property lines. Nobody owns more than a small part of it, so nothing gets done.
Store owners were told by MLS that the city would clean it up, if they wouldn’t. A few took the hint but much of it remained until Friday, when a contractor crew spent part of the day removing trash from the 200-metre-long alley.
Scott Sullivan, a district manager with MLS, said a map of property lines was used to figure out who owns what. As the cleanup crew made its way along the alley, MLS officials recorded the time spent on each section and took photos of the work, which will be used to apportion the bill. Even the tipping fees for disposing of the junk at a waste transfer station will be divvied up and added to their bills, he said.
If it isn’t paid, it’ll be added to the owner’s taxes, Sullivan said, noting that MLS intends to be more vigilant about compliance and will also begin charging $111 inspection fees, making the owners pay at least some of the enforcement costs.
Nothing has worked so far, but if the city is serious about laying down the law, it will only hurt people who have ignored it, and be welcomed by homeowners on Century whose properties back onto the alley.
But what’s to be done about scofflaws who get away with illegal dumping late at night, when nobody is looking ? They’re almost impossible to stop, and that is unlikely to change behind the plaza. What's broken in your neighbourhood? Wherever you are in Greater Toronto, we want to know. Email to jlakey@thestar.ca or follow @TOStarFixer on Twitter.