‘Wake-up call’ on problem buildings City task force issues first report on fire-blighted, derelict properties By: Nicole Buffie Posted: 6:58 PM CDT Tuesday, Jun. 4, 2024 Last Modified: 10:17 AM CDT Wednesday, Jun. 5, 2024 Updates

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City of Winnipeg resources are being strained by the burgeoning scourge of problem properties, which are often magnets for arsonists and drug users, a task force reported Tuesday, as it revealed the government receives a call a day to respond to such a site.

Since January, city workers and Winnipeg police have inspected 39 vacant or derelict homes, responded to 282 calls for service on problem properties and boarded up 114 buildings. A task force struck by the city to keep tabs on the issue and look at ways to improve the government’s response gave a verbal report to the city’s property and development committee Tuesday.

“That’s pretty sobering data,” said committee chair Coun. Sherri Rollins, who has insisted on a tough approach to the eyesores.

Currently, 69 properties are in need of remediation or demolition. In 21 cases, property owners are taking care of the situation, while 48 cases are being handled by the city, task force co-chair Moira Geer told the committee.

Problem properties are defined by the city as occupied or derelict, unsecured properties that have a history of recurring building violations and fires, or those that present “nuisance conditions.”

They include buildings that have been hit by fire and are partially demolished or those where demolition has taken place and huge piles of rubble remain. In some cases, the city pays the cost of tearing down a building and bills the owner via their tax bill.

Geer, who is also the city’s deputy chief administrative officer, said so far this year five property owners have been told to bolster the boarding up of their vacant or derelict properties to prevent people from getting in. To date, just one of those properties has been breached.

Geer said the task force has been meeting monthly to explore how to deal with the blighted sites that have popped up in just about every part of the city.

“We continue to look at improvements we can make,” Geer said as the task force gave its first account of the situation.

“It’s not the figures we want to see, I’ll admit,” Rollins said, adding she refuses to continue stretching city resources to deal with problem properties.

Municipal government keen to find solutions

Geer told the Free Press the municipal government is keen to find solutions that don’t overburden resources such as police and firefighters. In the latest example, crews were dispatched Monday night to put out a fire in a vacant house on the 600 block of Logan Avenue. They managed to get the flames under control within about 20 minutes.

“The city’s really doing its best because we know it’s not fun for neighbours and neighbourhoods,” she said.

In 2023, the city reported a record-breaking 125 fires in vacant buildings up to Nov. 15. Statistics for the entire year are not available.

Rollins directed the public service to report back to the committee in the fall about legislation that would allow the city to demolish vacant and derelict buildings when they pose a fire hazard.

“We are seeing too much dereliction and we’re seeing too much vacancy. So if you’re holding on to a derelict and vacant building, this is the wake-up call,” she said. “If you don’t heed the wake-up call there, there is tougher policy moves on the horizon.”

“We are seeing too much dereliction and we’re seeing too much vacancy. So if you’re holding on to a derelict and vacant building, this is the wake-up call. If you don’t heed the wake-up call there, there is tougher policy moves on the horizon.”–Coun. Sherri Rollins

Last year, the city cracked down on owners by changing the bylaw to allow it to charge owners for the cost of fighting fires at vacant and derelict buildings.

As of Aug. 31, 2023, the city had issued 27 bills to owners, totalling more than $750,000.

In an effort to curb residential fires in problem neighbourhoods, Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service staff have gone to more than 2,000 homes in the last two months to supply them with smoke detectors or change batteries on existing monitors.

Residents are educated about fire safety and shown steps they can take to reduce their fire risk.

“This year alone, they’ve done more in two months than they would typically do the entire year,” Geer said.

Rollins called that effort the “prevention and public education that we need.”

The task force’s next report is set for December.

nicole.buffie@freepress.mb.ca