Demolition permits for seven Cloverdale properties are too slow in coming for neighbour Alan Franklin.
Franklin, 65, lives in an apartment building on 57A Avenue and 177B Street in Cloverdale. From his third-floor balcony, where he often works in the summer, he can see two of the seven distressed properties in the downtown core.
鈥淔rom our perspective, living across the street, it鈥檚 like living in a dump,鈥� he said.
The seven properties were recently the scene of what local RCMP called a 鈥渉uge success story鈥� for the town centre.
In August, bylaw officers boarded up four of the seven properties and evicted seven squatters. On one of the properties, bylaw officers removed several dump trucks worth of refuse.
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But that effort isn鈥檛 enough for Franklin, and hasn鈥檛 stopped unsavoury activity from going on in the area.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of stuff going on,鈥� Franklin said, putting a slight stress on the word 鈥渟tuff,鈥� indicating that perhaps it was of a less than legal nature.
According to Surrey鈥檚 communtiy enforcement manager Martin Blais, there were issues with squatters on the properties as recently as the beginning of October, when a few people were stripping one of the houses of wire. RCMP and bylaw officers responded to that incident. Franklin noted that some of the boards covering the doors and windows on one of the houses had been removed, possibly indicating people were living in the house.
鈥淭he people in my building, they鈥檙e really upset too, because they鈥檝e been there for a few years and they said it鈥檚 been going on for a couple of years,鈥� Franklin said.
Franklin only bought his apartment last October; he thought the property across the street was undergoing renovations.
鈥淲e thought okay, it鈥檚 going to be fixed in a month or so. I had no idea it鈥檚 been sitting here this long.鈥�
In July 2017, all seven of the properties were bought by Canada Nanyang Investment Holdings Ltd., a numbered company which registered in May 2017. According to Blais, bylaw officials are 鈥渄iligently working with the owners鈥� to demolish the buildings and develop the land.
鈥淲e should have a resolution fairly shortly, because we contacted the owners. We鈥檙e on top of things,鈥� Blais said.
鈥淚 know people feel it鈥檚 an eyesore, but we just need a little bit of time to get everything worked out and all the permits approved and dealt with. Then we should see a difference within that Cloverdale area.鈥�
According to Surrey councillor and Cloverdale resident Bruce Hayne, the owner is in the process of applying for a demolition permit.
鈥淚鈥檝e been assured by our planning department that the minute that demolition application comes in, it will be issued immediately,鈥� he said. That means there could be bulldozers on scene a few weeks after the application is approved.
鈥淏ut if there are delays on the part of the owner, then it would take longer,鈥� Hayne said, 鈥渋n which case then we would look at other courses of action.鈥�
Those other courses of action could include a demolition order, which is a much longer process, as it has to go through the courts.
Hayne said the owner has a development application into the city鈥檚 planning department already. Hayne hasn鈥檛 seen the application himself, but understands it is coming through the planning process, which can take several months as they work out the details before it goes to council.
鈥淚 get it, it鈥檚 frustrating for the residents when they see a property that鈥檚 obviously in transition, is going to get redeveloped, but then falls into disrepair in the meantime,鈥� Hayne said.
Franklin agrees.
鈥淚f they said to us, 鈥楢lright, Alan great. We got the demolition permits. It鈥檚 going to be demolished next week. It鈥檚 going to be clean, we鈥檙e going to just have fields across the street.鈥� I鈥檓 as happy as can be,鈥� he said, walking down 177B Street towards his apartment.
鈥淚f they say we鈥檙e going to leave it for the next year, and too bad for you, I鈥檓 not happy.鈥�
