Mayor Watts, Enforce This Bylaw...

Lots of buzz about the last post " Mayor Watts, Tear Down These Walls"  Here's the story from the Peace Arch News.   Read here

Mayor Watts, Tear Down These Walls

All the good people of Surrey are asking for, is that the city enforce its unsightly property bylaw shown below.

 Set a deadline for the owner to remove the  building. If the deadline passes, the city must go in and clear the lot.
The city has the power to demolish the structure and charge the owner.

Unsightly Properties

Properties within the City of Surrey are required to be maintained at an acceptable level.  The Surrey Property Maintenance and Unsightly Premises By-law, 2007, No. 16393 (PDF. New window.) sets acceptable levels of maintenance and defines what is considered unsightly. Accumulation of junk, discarded materials and garbage, dead landscaping, uncontrolled growth of landscaping, and deterioration of fences, buildings or other structures are examples of items contained within the definition of unsightly in the by-law.

Enforcement procedures:

Once a complaint is received, an inspection is conducted by a By-law Enforcement Officer. If the By-law Enforcement Officer determines the property falls within the definition of an unsightly property, the by-law is explained to the property owner, as well as what must be done to clean up the property. A deadline for the clean-up is set by the By-law Enforcement Officer after the property owner has been notified of the problem.

If sufficient clean-up of the property has not taken place after the deadline has lapsed, the City may have the property cleaned up at the expense of the property owner. The cost of the clean-up will form a part of the property taxes of the property if the property owner does not pay.

Make a complaint online or call 604-591-4370 to make a complaint.

- See more at: http://www.surrey.ca/city-government/4682.aspx#Unsightly Property