Port Coquitlam city council is expected to take action tonight, Feb. 13, against two properties along Kingsway Avenue, near the Pitt River bridge.
Council will consider a Section 57 notice on title against the landowner of 750 Kingsway Ave. for construction work that’s deemed not in compliance with city bylaws and the BC Building Code.
According to the report by Bruce Irvine, PoCo’s director of development services, Ground X, the tenant and property operator, have failed to fix the deficiencies noted by the city’s building division since 2021.
Specifically, the charges related to, among other things:
- an accessory canopy structure constructed without a permit
- a new office building, and several accessory buildings, constructed without a permit
- structures encroaching on to city property
- abandoned buildings in disrepair
- lack of permanent washrooms
If approved, the notice on title will shift the liability away from the city and provide details to present and future owners about the building permit and inspection issues, which can be viewed by the public at city hall.
As well, the Section 57 would alert business professionals such as real estate agents, mortgage holders and insurers to the risks associated with the property.
Based in Coquitlam, Ground X was founded in 2010 for material management. Its corporate profile states that it has sites around Metro Vancouver for the removal and disposition of soil and construction waste materials.
In December 2023, inspectors from B.C.’s environment ministry were at Ground X’s yard in Port Coquitlam; a pollution abatement order was recently issued and ministry staff are recommending the company be fined.
Ground X officials have been invited to speak before city council tonight at the Section 57 hearing.
Last month, city council issued a Section 57 for non-compliance against business blocks away in Port Coquitlam: Meridian RV.
Remedial Order
Meanwhile, another property along Kingsway Avenue — also used by Ground X — is on council’s radar for tonight’s meeting.
Council will review a city staff recommendation to place a remedial action order against 855 Kingsway Ave. for public health and safety concerns.
According a report from Dominic Long, PoCo’s community safety and corporate services director, the order pertains to a building that’s creating “hazardous conditions and potential liability for the city” by contravening the Highway Use and Building and Plumbing bylaws.
The order requires the property owner to remove the building and surrounding structures, used as a weigh scale station by Ground X and deemed to be encroaching on city property, within 30 days.
Long wrote that the area is used by pedestrians and cyclists detouring from the Traboulay PoCo Trail “and the structure creates an additional safety risk.”
The Port Coquitlam city council meeting starts at 6 p.m.
