Portage la Prairie to use fines to spur negligent building owners into action

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Leaders in Portage la Prairie are ramping up efforts to rid the city of vacant and rundown homes and buildings, with a new bylaw that could hit property owners that leave buildings to sit and decay with hefty and increasing fines.

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“I can tell you in my six years on council, and since citizens have had access to my email and phone number, derelict properties has probably been the number one thing that I get called on,” city of Portage la Prairie Mayor Sharilyn Knox said at a city council meeting on Tuesday.

“And it is because it is hard on neighbours to have properties that either look awful or that are causing public safety concerns.”

At Tuesday’s meeting, Portage councillor Colin Doyle introduced a new motion that if approved would implement a Vacant and Derelict Building By-Law.

Doyle said the southern Manitoba city which is home to approximately 13,000 residents, there are growing issues with derelict residential and commercial buildings, and some property owners not maintaining properties to even the most basic of standards.

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According to Doyle, dilapidated and vacant buildings lead to a number of issues that need to be addressed, including increasing the possibility of fires and criminal activity, and they are often eye-sores while decreasing property values in neighbourhoods.

“This bylaw was created to address the issues with the owners of boarded up and derelict properties that pose several social, health and financial risks to our communities,” Doyle said.

“This is part of the beautification process, but also about health and safety, because these vacant and derelict buildings can create major social and health issues.”

Significant and increasing fines are proposed for those who neglect homes and other buildings in Portage. The fines would increase the longer property owners don’t take action. Fines would start at $2,000 annually and could increase to as much as $8,500 by the fourth year.

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It also includes several other possible fines and fees for derelict property owners.

“The bylaw includes timelines, registration requirements, and maintenance standards which adhere to our municipal act and provides the city of Portage la Prairie with legal recourse to enforce, and collect fees associated with the bylaw,” Doyle said.

Portage councillor Joe Masi said he was strongly in favour of moving the bylaw forward because he believes the fines being proposed could be the deterrent the city needs to combat the issue.

“This is a long time coming,” Masi said. “The city does need to have certain tools they can use that have some teeth to them when there are landlords that won’t take the same initiative, this is going to help address this with escalating penalties, so it’s going to entice people to deal with this now.

“It’s our community and we are tasked with the responsibility to make it as safe and as prosperous as possible, and this is going to make our community safer, and create better neighborhoods.”

The motion passed first reading on Tuesday, with all councillors voting in favour. It still needs to pass second and third readings, and is expected to go to second reading at a council meeting scheduled for June 10.

— Dave Baxter is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of the Winnipeg Sun. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.

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