A property officially deemed a nuisance by the City remains for sale(Alex Rawnsley/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Alex Rawnsley

terminal ave

Tab continues rising for Nanaimo nuisance property, site of recent fire

Jan 19, 2023 | 4:21 PM

NANAIMO — While a recent fire likely won’t result in a bill for the property owner, costs continue to be applied by the City against a designated nuisance property on Terminal Ave.

Light damage to the building itself occurred following a fire by one of the exterior doors at 1045 Terminal Ave., on Thursday, Jan. 12. It was the latest in a long string of challenges with the dormant property declared a nuisance in June 2022.

Dave LaBerge, manager of bylaw services, said the nature of the fire doesn’t fall under a penalty within the nuisance property bylaw.

“It’s left a mess back there of burned debris and other garbage that’s left, so we’re in contact with the owners saying this has to be addressed and cleaned up forthwith or we’re just going to send a contract service in to do it at your expense.”

LaBerge said the out of town owner has been given a short window to deal with it.

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A site visit by NanaimoNewsNOW on Thursday, Jan. 19 showed some garbage and a small amount of charred material on the rear of the property, however all entrances to the building appeared to be secured with plywood.

Nanaimo Fire Rescue crews deal with a fire at an abandoned property on Terminal Ave. on Thursday, Jan. 12. (Jordan Davidson/NanaimoNewsNOW)

Since the nuisance designation was applied last year LaBerge said there’s been some positive steps forward regarding the former Bino’s restaurant site.

“The communication is intermittent on a need-be basis. The observations the officers that do check it periodically, they do seem to be trying to do some maintenance to the property, meaning somebody’s going to clean it up, trying to cover up the graffiti and cut the lawns.”

LaBerge added they keep the property on a regular watch and try to work with the owners as needed.

While he was unable to provide a firm figure, LaBerge said the City had sent contractors to the property twice for clean-up since June 2022, with the estimated bill charged to the owners, including fees, being “several thousand dollars”.

Further options do exist for the City to deal with the site, should it fall into an unsalvageable condition.

A fire order, which was briefly placed on the property but removed shortly after, could force the owner to further secure the building by using fencing and/or in-person security.

Other steps could also be taken through Council action by citing a multitude of City bylaws, or even pursuing the matter legally through the courts.

LaBerge said they’re a long way off any of those options at the moment.

“To mitigate or a nuisance or a hazard situation and that could lead up to as much as requiring the demolishing of a building but we typically only do that if the structure’s really of no real value.”

Frustrations continue to be voiced by the surrounding community regarding the site, which LaBerge said was challenging given its location on a busy highway and the fact it the nuisance building backs onto the E&N Trail.

“Where you have the combination of the two, it’s very easy for these things to get messed up very quickly and we realize it’s very challenging for the owners as well and we’ll continue to try and work with them.”

The property itself, which is also home to an adjacent and operating Indian restaurant, remains for sale for $1.8 million.

A current Real Estate listing has been active for just under a year, however archived images of the long-vacant building show ‘for lease’ signs dating back to 2014 and ‘for sale’ signage in 2021.

The current owners have held it since 2018.

A small amount of garbage and some charred pieces were visible at 1045 Terminal Ave. during a Thursday, Jan. 19 site visit. (Alex Rawnsley/NanaimoNewsNOW)

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