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In Barrie
Feb 2nd, 2011
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Empty buildings worry Dunlop Street East business owner
By Ian McInroy Barrie Examiner January 29 2011
Owners of empty buildings in Barrie’s downtown should be keeping a close eye on their properties when the mercury dips and the snow flies, says a Dunlop Street East businesswoman.
Maureen Cosme, owner of Bell, Book and Candle Bookstore, recently became concerned about the unoccupied building next to her when strange smells started to stink up her shop.
“In the middle of January, I started to smell something not quite right in my store,” she said. “When I came in the back door, there was a strong natural gas smell. The next day, it was stronger yet again, with another lingering odour of something rotting.”
An Enbridge gas employee checked for leaks that day in the indoor pipes and also checked the gas meter. Nothing out of the ordinary was located.
The following day, Cosme’s employee called the fire department because the smell was so overwhelming.
Firefighters searched the entire building and found nothing, but Cosme was convinced something was amiss and responsible for the overwhelming smell of what she called a mixture of natural gas and garbage.
“I asked the firefighters about the building beside us. I hadn’t seen anyone in or out of here in a couple of months,” she said. “There could’ve been an animal or somebody lying in there dead.”
Firefighters eventually made their way inside the building to the east of her store, which was a drinking establishment at one time, and Cosme’s concerns were confirmed.
While there was nothing dead located, there was one troubling find that could’ve been deadly.
Cosme said she was told the pilot light had gone out on the stove, there was no heat on in the building, the pipes has burst and there was sewage leaking inside.
The situation could’ve been a disaster waiting to happen, Cosme said, adding the first thing she thought of was the huge Five Points fire in December 2007.
Barrie police laid charges in that case, which is still before the courts.
“Can we afford more fires in the downtown due to mismanagement of real estate?” she asked. “Where is the accountability to ensure that empty buildings are properly maintained and properly checked to ensure that we do not incur any further incidents of buildings exploding, fires wreaking havoc and downtown (shops) being put out of business?”
Cosme said there are numerous unoccupied buildings downtown, something she’s not comfortable with.
“I’m surrounded by them. There’s not a lot of accountability on the part of some landlords. There needs to be a requirement to ensure the safety of the building,” she said.
Barrie building official Gord Allison said the city’s property standards bylaw requires property owners to maintain their buildings in proper working order, and they must be secured from unwanted entry.
“There is no requirement to maintain the heating system of an unoccupied building,” he said, but city officials will respond to complaints and investigate concerns of potential bylaw contraventions if an unoccupied building has not been secured.
In cases like the building next to Cosme, Allison said it’s a matter between the building owner and their insurance companies, and their neighbours.
“The city has no jurisdiction in determining fault or liability for damages caused by the lack of heat in an adjoining building,” he said.
As for building maintenance regulations, the Ontario Fire Code requires buildings to maintain their fire protection components, Allison added.
Contravening that code can be costly. Corporations can be fined a maximum of $100,000 and individuals can be fined up to $50,000 or face imprisonment up to one year.
Coun. Lynn Strachan — who represents the downtown — said Cosme had a valid concern, one that could be resolved by more new businesses and a revitalization of the area.
“We need to work together with Downtown Barrie (formerly the BIA) to fill all the spaces and get more shops downtown,” Strachan said.
“If those empty stores were filled, we wouldn’t have problems like that,” she added.

 

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