Vancouver City Council |
ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT
Date: April 7, 2003
Author/Local: C. Robbins/7535
RTS No. 03386
CC File No. 113
Meeting Date: May 27, 2003
TO:
Vancouver City Council
FROM:
City Building Inspector
SUBJECT:
By-law Violations at 3662 West 4th Avenue
RECOMMENDATION
THAT the Director of Legal Services is hereby authorized, in her discretion, to commence legal actions or proceedings in relation to the premises located at 3662 West 4th Avenue, Lot 3 W Hlf, Block 27, District Lot 540, Plan 229, PID 013-463-781 and may, in her discretion, seek injunctive relief in those actions or proceedings, in order to bring the building into compliance with City By-laws.
GENERAL MANAGER'S COMMENTS
The General Manager of Community Services RECOMMENDS approval of the foregoing.
COUNCIL POLICY
Sections 334 and 571 of the Vancouver Charter allow the City to seek injunctive relief for any By-law contravention.
BACKGROUND
This building is used as a second hand store for the sale of used wood doors, hardware, lamps and lighting fixtures and other household accessories. The building is one storey of combustible construction and is not sprinklered. The products for sale are piled inside from side wall to side wall with only a narrow aisle (measured 8" at the base, in some locations) from front to back. Lighting fixtures and other accessories are hung from the ceiling. In therear of the building, the business owner has constructed a temporary storage area to accommodate the overflow of materials for sale in the building. The entire rear yard of the property is also being used for storage and a makeshift cover has been constructed. The large accumulation of combustible materials in the building has resulted in a severe fire load in violation of the Fire By-law and the Fire Services Act. It should also be noted that the Vancouver Building By-law requires two means of egress from the floor area and also stipulates that no obstructions be placed in a required means of egress so as to restrict the width to less than 750 mm or 30".
The Fire Department also reports that because of the extreme fire load and inadequate aisle width in the building, the potential for fire and for people being trapped inside the building in the event of a fire is high. They also report that given the large amount of combustibles, if a fire were to occur, it would spread rapidly, be difficult to control and could spread to the adjacent retail and residential building.
The owners of the property have been charged in Provincial Court pursuant to the Untidy Premises By-law related to the accumulation of debris and materials at the rear of the site.
The trial date is set for May 20, 2003. In addition, the Fire Department advises that they have ordered the owner and business operator to remove the excessive accumulation of combustible materials and because the owner has not complied, that matter has also been referred to the City Prosecutor for charges. Furthermore, our records indicate that the business operator has been carrying on business at this location without a business license in contravention of the License By-law.DISCUSSION
The business operator and property owners have been given verbal direction by inspection staff on numerous occasions to clean up the building and provide proper access front to back. They have been issued written orders and charged in Provincial Court, however, to date, despite our efforts, the owners and operator continue to be in violation of the by-laws and continue to jeopardize the safety of the occupants of this building and those who live and work next door.
CONCLUSION
It is therefore, recommended, that the Director of Legal Services be authorized to commence legal action or seek injunctive relief in order to compel the owners and/or business operator to bring the building into compliance with the by-laws and to maintain it thereafter in a safe condition.
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