CORNWALL, Ontario – The Renaissance Association is seeking help from the City of Cornwall to address what they see as problems with property standards in the East End.
In a letter sent to local media, Mark MacDonald, Chair of the Renaissance Association expressed the Association’s concern.
“It is intolerable for city officials to disregard the embarrassing condition of many homes, buildings and yards any longer since the properties fail to meet the barest of standards as per municipal bylaws, principles and policies,” said MacDonald. “The sights are enough to scare away potential residents and new business prospects.”
The Association is eager to work alongside the City of Cornwall to enforce Property Standards by-laws.
“We requested a meeting with the CAO (Chief Administration Officer) some time ago to offer a proposal to address the situation,” said MacDonald. “The acceptance of our proposal would have a meaningful impact on the district. Our association is ready to go.”
The Association has prepared a proposal to address sub-standard properties in the Renaissance district.
“This plan requires the city to partner with us to enable its Building and By-law to work much more efficiently regarding street-view eyesores, health hazards and potential fire hazards in the Renaissance district,” reads a statement from the Association’s proposal.
Additionally, the proposal indicates that the Association would monitor and evaluate the City of Cornwall’s performance in regard to enforcing the by-laws. The Association would then present its findings to the CAO, on a quarterly basis.
The Association is hoping to collaborate with the City of Cornwall to achieve their goal.
“The Association is ready to do its part. We hope the By-law Office will therefore assign a resource, on contract, to work closely with the Association during the spring and summer,” r the Association’s proposal reads. “The objectives of the project are reasonable and attainable.”
As a first step, the Association prepared a criterion to use to identify yards, boulevards and buildings that fail to meet property standards.
- Yards, boulevards, fences and buildings deemed in poor condition, are dirty looking, or appear dangerous.
- Garbage bags and pails set out before pickup day.
- Junk and trash viewed from the street (discarded furniture, piles of wood, broken items)
- Broken or missing windows, damaged lattice work, dilapidated siding.
- Roofs with damaged shingles seen from the sidewalk.
- Other unacceptable conditions.
