Salon’s weeds draw city’s ire while squatters use fire-damaged vacant house two doors away By: Chris Kitching Posted: 6:16 PM CDT Thursday, Jul. 27, 2023

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This article was published 27/07/2023 (1113 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Winnipeg salon owner is perplexed after the city sent a warning letter about “unsightly” weeds on her property, while a derelict house nearby has been allowed to fall into ruin for almost two years.

The notice arrived in Elvira Pepe’s mailbox a couple weeks ago, after someone apparently complained to the city about the vegetation behind the salon.

“I’m just so confused. I do have (weeds), but they’re not encroaching on anyone’s property,” said Pepe, who owns el:v Hair on Lorette Avenue, just east of Stafford Street. “Two houses away from me is this abandoned home with grass two feet, three feet tall. I don’t understand.”

According to the city’s livability bylaw, grass and weeds must be kept trimmed or controlled. Grass must be kept to a maximum length of 15 centimetres.

The maximum fines are $300 for a business and $150 for an individual, although the penalties are halved if paid early.

Pepe is hiring someone to get rid of the weeds and avoid a fine. The city declined to comment specifically on her case.

“We are unable to share reports on individual addresses for privacy reasons,” spokesman David Driedger wrote in an email.

For Pepe, the vegetation behind her salon is a minor issue — and nowhere near as visible — compared with the vacant house.

“It’s a giant eyesore,” she said of the dilapidated property, which has been unoccupied since the fall of 2021.

People who live in the area said multiple complaints have been lodged with the city, but the house is still standing and there are ongoing problems.

They want the home to be demolished as soon as possible, and they questioned why it’s taking so long for action to be taken.

People have been squatting on and off in the single-storey house and a ramshackle wooden shed, according to residents.

Pepe said squatters started fires to keep warm during cold weather.

The situation has tied up Winnipeg police and fire paramedic service resources at times.

Firefighters extinguished a blaze in the house May 17. No one was inside when crews arrived, and no injuries were reported, the WFPS said at the time.

Part of the roof collapsed. A neighbouring house was also damaged.

Firefighters removed several propane tanks from the vacant home, said residents.

Driedger said the cause of the blaze remains under investigation.

Police officers have visited the property several times after receiving calls about insecure premises, said spokeswoman Const. Dani McKinnon.

After the house was eventually boarded up, people managed to pry off panels and go inside, said residents.

Boards covered windows and doors when the Free Press visited Thursday. The shed was not secure.

A woman who lives on Lorette said she saw two people coming out of the shed Wednesday. The woman, who declined an interview, said she’s afraid to go near the property, especially at night.

Lorette Avenue residents said concerns were raised with the city before and after the fire.

Pepe contacted the city after the blaze because she feared there would be another fire if action wasn’t taken.

Residents noted the squatters may be in need of social supports.

A woman who lives nearby said some residents met with Coun. Sherri Rollins (Fort Rouge—East Fort Garry) a few months ago to discuss the house and other issues in the neighbourhood.

“It’s drawing not a good crowd to our neighbourhood,” said the woman, who declined to give her name because she feared retribution. “Why are they not tearing it down? What are they waiting for?”

This week, a worker who disconnected natural gas lines informed her the house is going to be demolished, she said.

The property’s registered owner is BSA Group Ltd., according to city tax records.

Voice and text messages sent to a phone number that was listed online for the company’s director were not returned.

The city’s online database did not list any construction-related permits for the address.

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In May, the city announced new measures, including more enforcement and expedited demolition permits, in a bid to prevent fires or break-ins and, ultimately, reduce the number of derelict properties.

At that time, there were 685 derelict properties in Winnipeg.

“Residents shouldn’t have to put up with living next door to a derelict property for months, years on end,” Mayor Scott Gillingham said Thursday. “We’re putting more onus on the property owners to make sure their properties are secured and make sure their sites are cleaned up.”

Driedger said owners of vacant properties are required to address any issues that are cited during inspections that take place at least once a year.

He said the city inspected the Lorette Avenue property to ensure it was secured and boarded up.

“Generally speaking, if a property is found to be beyond structural repair or there is a risk of impending collapse, the city would consider an order to demolish,” Driedger wrote in an email.

The timeline for demolition projects vary from case to case, he said.

Gillingham and Driedger advised people to call 311 if they have concerns about a vacant property.

— With files from Cierra Bettens

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @chriskitching

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Chris Kitching
Reporter

Chris Kitching is a general assignment reporter at the Free Press. He began his newspaper career in 2001, with stops in Winnipeg, Toronto and London, England, along the way. After returning to Winnipeg, he joined the Free Press in 2021, and now covers a little bit of everything for the newspaper. Read more about Chris.

Every piece of reporting Chris produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.