The property owner of 790/796 Nanaimo River Rd. in Extension has 30 days to make progress on the clean-up of the property, including removing three dilapidated buildings modified without permits, part of ongoing social disorder issues that have plagued the property for years. (RDN)

By Jordan Davidson

hazardous property

‘A blight on the neighbourhood:’ Nanaimo River Rd. property owner given month to remove dilapidated buildings

Mar 27, 2025 | 5:27 AM

NANAIMO — The Regional District of Nanaimo (RDN) is giving a property owner 30 days to start cleaning up his property and removing three unsafe buildings, or they’ll do it for him.

Located at 790/796 Nanaimo River Rd., the well known problematic property has affected the local community for over 20 years, according to District staff and members of the RDN’s Board of Directors, with emergency services being called regularly to investigate criminal activity, noise complaints, and fires.

Director Erin Hemmens said it is a “well-known” issue for those living in the area with remedial action taken against the property in the past.

“The RDN has consistently received complaints from residents and the RCMP and local fire departments about the hazardous state of the structures. Multiple fires have occurred at the property… three dilapidated buildings on the property were modified without permits.”

Discard items like derelict vehicles, boats, and RV’s are strewn around the site, with numerous people living in some of the RV’s and “ramshackle” buildings. (RDN)

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A large-scale clean-up was initiated by the RDN in May of 2023, costing over $160,000, which was recovered from the province and placed on the property tax roll as taxes in arrears.

The board said following the clean-up, the property was compliant with bylaws for over a year with no people living on the site.

However last summer, unknown people went to the property and began vandalizing the buildings and leaving behind more miscellaneous items.

Board members voted in favour of the staff recommendation during their Tuesday, March 25 meeting, giving property owner Brian Ferstel 30 days to clean up and remove the three illegal buildings or the RDN would conduct another clean-up at his expense.

Ferstel was ordered to demolish the buildings or secure them against further entry late in 2024, as unknown people were again frequenting the property, abandoning more vehicles and boats, and adding other discarded material to the property.

He told the board his since-deceased brother and his friends were the source of the mess.

He added he would make repairs and clean the site, only for his brother and associates to bring more vehicles, boats, and other materials while he was out of town working as a welder and carpenter.

Emotional at times, Ferstel pleaded with the board to give him time for a “fresh start”, noting now his brother has passed, work to improve the property would not be continually undone.

“Considering my cooperation, the time I’ve owned it for 40 years, and the fact my brother has passed away, please let me have a chance to prove the new management that I will bring to the property. Don’t let the past negative reputation of the land crush the plans and dreams of the man who’s been working for years on your side.”

Multiple vehicles in various stages of being torn apart were located on the property. (RDN)

A defeated motion would have given him 90 days to start the cleanup, while Ferstel asked for at least six months before any further remedial action was taken.

He said he wants to fix some of the buildings in question and eventually return to living and working at the property.

Ferstel said the initial plan when he, his father and his brother purchased the lot in 1985 was to make the property “an example of (an) environmental sustainable development”.

His father died in 2015 and his brother passed away some time after the 2023 cleanup.

Board member Leonard Krog, who supported the defeated motion of 90 days instead of 30, said Ferstel needs to appreciate the realities of the situation.

“He needs to act on it and not stick to some stubborn view that somehow he’s going to remediate buildings that a qualified firm of engineers have said are unsafe, and the Regional District is not prepared to listen to unhappy neighbours anymore because this is pretty clearly a blight on the neighbourhood.”

The estimated cost involved in demolishing the three buildings is between $60,000 and $100,000, with the upfront cost paid by the RDN, and once again reimbursed by the province.

Photos of the property were taken by Bylaw Officers in November of 2024. (RDN)

A moai statue, a copy of the ones found on Easter Island in Chile, is a recognizable and well-known local feature outside the property gate of 790/796 Nanaimo River Rd., built by Ferstel. (Google Maps, 2014)

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