Neighbours plan to gather outside shut-down rooming house

Years of lobbying the city won’t end with the house being boarded up, group says

A sidewalk gathering will be held Tuesday outside a rooming house recently shut down by the city.

Several tenants were relocated and the large home, located at 494-496 Bolivar Street, was boarded up Wednesday.

The city fire department made the decision after an inspection that day found numerous fire code violations, including missing alarm and detection equipment, damaged or missing fire separations and a lack of emergency planning.

Many complaints had been made about the property.

In October 2016, the owner was convicted of Fire Code violations and was issued a fine of $10,000, plus court costs and victim surcharges.

Owner Si-Hwa Liou of Scarborough is scheduled to appear in Ontario Court of Justice in December to address the additional Fire Code charges.

On Sunday, neighbours issued a statement, with plans to gather outside the home Tuesday. Many neighbours had raised concerns about the home over the years, but at the same time expressed concerns for people living there who had no other options.

They plan to gather outside the home at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday to draw attention to the need for better, safer affordable housing in Peterborough.

An email was sent to other neighbours:

Some of us who are local to the situation are marking a milestone in our lobbying efforts that began after a tragic incident at the rooming house in 2011. In its wake we sought to bring controls to rooming houses as a consequence of negligent landlords. We worked with Police Services to monitor activities such as drug sales and disruptive behaviour. We reported regularly to By-Law Enforcement regarding unsafe building conditions and the accumulation of garbage. And we worked to tell a different story about our street, supported by positive actions such as the Little Library, tree plantings, street clean-ups, and the formation of our neighbourhood association. Last week we felt relief when the Peterborough Fire Services took action to address the deteriorating situation at the house. Yet any relief we have is temporary in that the future remains unclear. We acknowledge that this is not a favourable situation for the people who have lost housing. There are fewer single room occupancies in Peterborough as a consequence of the Bolivar closure. While this property failed to offer a safe option for affordable housing, we can use this incident to lobby local leadership to advance the provision of safe and affordable housing. Maybe that can be another positive outcome from this ongoing calamitous story.