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OCTOBER 26, 2017 | Volume 30 No. 128
Bylaw will target problem homes ANDREA KLASSEN STAFF REPORTER andrea@kamloopsthisweek.com
DAVE EAGLES/KTW
Breaking ground on The Reach at Thompson Rivers University is TRU Community Trust chief executive officer Finlay Sinclair (left), Cape Construction founder and chief executive officer Ralph Schwartzman, TRU Community Trust board chair Frank Quinn, Elder Estella Patrick Moller, Cape Construction president Reisa Schwartzman and TRU president Alan Shaver.
CRESTON HOUSE WITHIN REACH DALE BASS
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Ground has officially been broken and the first unit at what will eventually become Creston House was sold to a Thompson Rivers University employee. Karen Densky, who works in open learning, was the first person to seal the deal to move into what will become the first residential building at The Reach, a 25-year plan to create a sustainable, pedestrian-friendly SAVE UP TO
$
community of 3,500 multi-family the four-storey, 57,000-squarefoot Creston House develophousing units, retail and office ment. spaces, as well as other services, It will consist of 50 contempoon the TRU campus. rary condominium homes availOn Tuesday, administrators, able for purchase by anyone in staff and others involved in the the community. Brendan Shaw project gathered for the official Real Estate is marketing and sellSAVE UP TO ground-breaking, although — ‡ ing the units; about 40 per cent as people who have driven by of the project is sold. campus already know — work The Creston House project is has already begun on what is expected to generate about $20 envisioned to be three-million million of economic activity in square feet of urban residential Kamloops. living space. ON SELECT 2017 MODELS See THE REACH, A4 Cape Construction will build
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A bylaw allowing the City of Kamloops to fine owners of problem homes could be on the books by the end of the year. David Duckworth, the city’s Director of corporate services and community safety, said the so-called good neighbour bylaw will be up for discussion at a council workshop next Tuesday and before council for first reading in early November. Duckworth said the bylaw would allow the city to designate a home as a nuisance if police are called more than a certain number of times within a defined period, with the goal of targeting homes that are draining police resources and making neighbours feel unsafe. “If you exceed that, then, basically, the property owner will be put on notice that unless they come into compliance with us, and quickly come into compliance, they will start to be charged fees,” Duckworth said. “If police keep going there, they’re going to get charged for the number of RCMP officers, bylaws, staff, vehicles, anything.” Duckworth said the goal is to get property owners — who he said are often absentee landlords who may not know what is happening — to work with the city. In cases where that happens, the city may not ever send a bill. But, Duckworth added, there will likely be one or two homes per year, based on the experiences of other com-
No arrests in shooting as victims refuse to co-operate Story, A3
munities, where fines are required. “We have some properties that definitely cause many many problems, that are subject to many calls for police, fire, bylaw on a regular basis, and it’s just not fair for the rest of the taxpayers to foot that bill when the property owner does nothing about it,” he said. Because the bylaw is not yet in place, Duckworth said homes that already draw the attention of police on the regular won’t see fees unless new issues arise. Coun. Ray Dhaliwal, who campaigned in last month’s byelection on a law and order platform, said he has heard from concerned neighbours of a home on Nelson Avenue on the North Shore, where two people were shot Monday. He wants swift action on that property and others like it. Following the shooting, police told KTW the 217 Nelson Ave. home is considered a “problem residence” and is well known to officers. Dhaliwal, a locksmith, said the area is also familiar to him because he is routinely called to repair busted-in doors. He said the bylaw is promising strongly enforced. “Police’s hands are tied because they can only respond to incidents. They can’t actually evict the people,” he said. “It’s up to the homeowner. If the homeowner is unwilling to do something about it, the city needs to step in and do something about it.”
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