Comment 36141

By shaddupsevenup (registered) | Posted December 09, 2009 at 08:31:36

Someone up there said something to the effect that there are no property standards being enforced in the City, and I have to chime in and say that that is absolutely not true. The Bylaw Services department has undergone a massive overhaul, and things are moving much quicker now. Reports of violations are being inspected within the week, which is quite an improvement as to what the wait time was like just a few years ago. And nobody is going to come out and broadcast it, but sloppy and unsafe property owners are being fined. You can't really see it happening, as these are the sorts of changes that occur over time, but slumlords are being charged and will continue to be charged. From my perspective, there really isn't any gray area. If a property is in violation, they get a notice to comply. If, during the second inspection, the violation hasn't been taken care of, then the work is done by the City and the bill is put onto the property taxes. Some landlords are getting caught in the crossfire as they have rented to tenants who don't feel the need to mow the lawn. I could go on and on, but really, just wanted to chime in and say there is a LOT of movement in Property Standards, looking at it from where I sit.

Also, I wanted to say that I like Meredith's idea (or someone in Chicago's, as it were) of 10 places. I've often thought that Hamilton could really use a Hamiltonian version of Dufferin Grove Park. http://dufferinpark.ca/home/wiki/wiki.ph... They have art in the park, and different community groups all work together. Their webpage tells you how they did it, how they had to fight with City Hall and sometimes still do. They have a large stone oven in the park where artisanal bakers make bread. And you can go with your own dough and bake it in their ovens. I would love to start something like that.

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