Garbage, rats, unfinished construction cause Windsor neighbours grief

Homeowners in two Windsor neighbourhoods say they have good reason to complain about their neighbours who are spoiling their property by refusing to finish construction projects, take out the trash or maintain their lawns. 

In one instance, a home in the residential Forest Glade community has been under construction for the past 14 years with the owner having already been fined $1,200. The house on Robinet Road has not had a roof since 2007.

Neighbour Rick Leblanc says there is also no siding on the house, and points to an addition that was added four years ago but was never completed.

Construction materials and mounds of dirt are scattered around the property which sits in a quiet, residential neighbourhood surrounded by well-kept homes.

 "This is the way it's been for 14 years, this is probably the way it's going to stay," said Leblanc.

Another home on Curry Avenue in South Windsor is causing neighbours grief as scrap metal, bikes and garbage bags full of unknown items are packed in and around the house.

"It got increasingly worse over the two years we've been here," said Emily Holden, whose home on Everts is directly behind the house on Curry.

"It's just been a big menace to our lives because we can't enjoy our backyard without rats coming right up to us," said Holden. Her family has called and paid for pest control because she says the city's program takes too long. 

Rats and possums are problems both sets of neighbours say they have to deal with, the city having fenced off the property on Robinet Road.  

According to the city's manager of building inspections, Rob Vani, the city has revoked permits on the Robinet property and has taken the owner to court where he was fined. Vani says the city can't put time limits on construction sites simply with building permits. The permits can only be revoked if the city can prove the project has been abandoned, so the city has gone a different route.

Vani says there is currently an order to repair the property and a new permit to build. That order comes with a September completion date.

But when it comes to the items in the yard on Curry, Vani says its hard to force clean up of them because they're not necessarily garbage.

"Many of the other materials on the property can be deemed as just storing that may not be discarded materials for the owner so we're approaching it from a zoning perspective.

Homeowner promises repairs by September

When CBC News contacted Pierre Turcott, the owner of the home on Robinet, he said he understood why his neighbours were upset but says the delays were due to health issues.

He says he intends to finish the project by this September, in compliance with the order.

"I'm pretty confident we're going to be able to manage and find people, get some contractor to get some work done," said Turcott.

CBC was unable to contact the homeowner on Curry Avenue at the time of publication. 

Vani says in that case, the city has issued an order under the zoning bylaw for maintaining an outdoor storage yard in a residential district. If the owner doesn't comply, the city can take that person to court, which could result in a fine. 

"It could be up to a maximum of $50,000," said Vani.

He admits these cases can take a long time to be resolved because the offending homeowner has rights and the courts give people chances to fix a situation. He also says the appeal process can also drag on.