Saint John council approved two more building demolitions Monday night — the latest on Saddlebrook Court near the airport.
But it prompted questions from council about why it takes so long to tear down dilapidated buildings.
Councillor Gerry Lowe pointed out these two files in question date back to 2012.
“If we continue to do demolition in the city, it’ll be another 50 or 60 years before we get the houses we’ve got now under control to be torn down,” says Lowe.
The city’s Rachel Van Wart told council it’s a complex process but they’ve made changes to speed it up, such as sending out requests for quotation before getting council approval for demolition.
Van Wart says they often need to do an internal inspection of the building once a notice to comply is issued, and that can be slowed down if they need an entry warrant.
If nothing changes, she says, they need to re-inspect the building before asking council to approve demolition.
Mayor Don Darling says the city can’t just walk in and start demolishing vacant buildings.
“Folks still have rights, I mean, we live in a country where owners have a lot of rights,” says Darling.
“You’d love to walk in with a bulldozer and just bulldoze the house down, but there are all of those steps regardless, and that’s sort of the world we live in.”
Photo caption: Saint John council approved a request Monday night to tear down two vacant homes on Saddlebrook Court. (Submitted)
