Town heads to court in attempt to clean up waterfront lot
The town of Île-Perrot is going to court to force the cleanup of a residential lot along the waterfront, which it claims is littered with materials and scrap items that sometimes gets carried into the river when the water rises during spring thaw periods, contravening its nuisance bylaws.
After sending multiple notifications, from 2013 to this past April, which went unheeded, the town sought a Quebec Superior Court order to remove items stored across four adjacent cadastral lots around a home on Île-Claude Road. The town is also seeking permission to bill the owners for the work.
The city sent a final warning letter through a bailiff in April demanding the owners proceed to clear their property. After the owners failed to comply, the town sought the court order to clear the lots.
A municipal inspector toured the property on Île-Claude Road. Several photographs were taken of materials as well as a trailer stored on the property. These images were submitted to the court by the city.
The town’s lawyer was in court for a preliminary proceeding last Friday.
On Monday, Mayor Marc Roy said the town is still waiting on the green light from the courts to proceed with the cleanup of what he considers to be an eyesore, noting there has been a long standing disagreement between the municipality and the property owners.
“Every year it’s the same thing,” he said, adding the owners of the property have accused municipal officials of discrimination.
“I don’t want to fan the flames, but if we placed this in the hands of a lawyer, it’s not for nothing,” the mayor said. “We usually hope to rectify these situations without lawyers. When lawyers get involved, it costs lots of money for nothing.”
Since this property borders the waterfront, some materials are carried into the lake during spring thaws, Roy said.
“When the water goes up, it takes all those parts and sends it everywhere,” he added.
The owners of the property could not be reached for comment.
The town’s nuisance bylaws deal with placing or storing earth, stone, sand, rock, firewood or other bulk materials in front or side yards for a period exceeding 15 days, with the exception of excavation resulting from construction work. The same rules apply to storing any building materials, such as metal.
The nuisance bylaw also deals with any object, equipment, furniture or vehicle in need of repair that is left outside on a property.
The bylaw requires that any property, whether built up or not, must be maintained, kept in good condition and free of undergrowth, weed, piles of debris, material or scrap.