City council may order property owner to fill West End pit

City councillors are expected to consider this week declaring a construction crane and excavation pit at a notable residential property on Vancouver’s West Side a danger and a nuisance.

The property at 6289 Carnarvon St. is the subject of a 2016 claim in B.C. Supreme Court that its owner, Jin Fang Li, filed against her exhusband, Sheng Yun Dong, and several other parties that include the City of Vancouver itself.

The construction zone is the former site of a 10,000-squarefoot house that was demolished in the summer of 2015 without Li’s knowledge or permission, and with demolition and construction permits listing her husband as owner, which were approved by the city, according to her statement of claim. The allegations in the claim have not been proven in court and the named parties have not filed responses.

After the house was torn down, construction on a new home began, but did not progress past the foundation stage, according to the claim. The property has since remained a large pit filled with water and it hosts a crane that is no longer certified for use, according to a staff report to council.

City staff are now asking councillors to order the property owner to remove the crane and fill in the excavation. If approved, the owner would be given 60 days to carry out the work. Failing that, the city could step in to do it and recover its costs as a debt or as taxes against the owner and through the sale of the crane, according to the staff report.