Council votes for 'proactive enforcement' of vacant Windsor buildings

Windsor city council voted for "proactive enforcement" of vacant properties on Monday night, rather than implementing a vacant building registry. 

The move came at the recommendation of Windsor's chief building official John Revell

"The two new vacant building oriented officers will be targeting our areas where there's problems of vacant buildings," explained Revell. "They'll be driving up and down the street and when they see issues they're going to stop, they're going to do an inspection on the outside of the building, they're going to write up any orders that are necessary, and they're going to be sending that off to the owner of the building." 

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Property owners will have 30 days to comply with any orders given to them by the city and could be fined if they do not comply. 

The program will cost the city nearly $65,000, which will come from the 2018 budget. 

Council heard from several residents, mainly from the downtown core, who urged the city to do something about the vacancies. 

"There are more rented and abandoned properties on my street now than actual homeowners," said Ward 2 resident Caroline Taylor, adding that she sees the unkept homes as a danger to the public. 

The issue of safety was echoed by Barry Horrobin, director of planning for the Windsor police service. He said the vacant properties become "an incubator for crime and disorder."

Councilors added an amendment to revisit the idea to implement a vacant buildings program, after they receive more information on its viability. 

"We're very pleased. We think that this is a good option to go forward," said CEO of United Way Lorraine Goddard. "It also allows us to come back to council to get some feedback and evaluate this option going forward."