Imperial Oil says it is doing everything required to keep its Ioco heritage buildings in good repair but the city of Port Moody wants access just to make sure.
On Tuesday, council approved a Heritage Inspection Order that will grant staff authority to do closer inspections of four community buildings and 13 residential buildings under Heritage Conservation Area protection to make sure they are structurally sound and safe from wind, rain and pests.
The decision comes as 250 acres of the Ioco lands is changing hands, including the eastern portion of the townsite, formerly a community for Imperial Oil workers. The architect for the buyer, Brilliant Circle Group, is looking at ways to possibly reuse the buildings.
Mayor Mike Clay said the city simply wants to make sure the buildings are water tight and aren’t falling down. He added that he doesn’t want to end up in a legal battle arguing over what should be done to protect them.
“They have requirement to maintain the buildings in good order,” he said. “There’s no obligation for them to be occupied — for them to be any particular standard. That’s where it gets difficult to do any sort of enforcement.”
Imperial Oil maintains it has never denied the city access to the site, as the heritage order states, but did ask for clarification as to the purpose of the inspection, to which the city never responded, spokesperson Killeen Kelly said, noting that the work done to maintain the buildings is a matter of public record.
“From our perspective, we continue to maintain the structures as per our policy to comply with bylaws,” Kelly said, listing off work done over the years including boarding up buildings, putting up no trespassing signs, tarping roofs, repairing steps, installing eaves troughs and employing a security detail.
But the president of the Port Moody Heritage Society said work to date doesn’t appear to be doing much to protect the buildings, which look like they are deteriorating.
“The heritage conservation and the heritage rules in the province does allow for the local community to go in and see heritage properties and assess whether they are being maintained per the heritage requirements,” Robert Simons pointed out, adding that he hopes the buildings aren’t so damaged that they can’t be re-used for community functions.
Meanwhile, architect James Cheng said he’s waiting for some soil remediation work to be done before taking possession of the buildings on Brilliant Circle Group’s portion of the property. But in the meantime, he is looking at an extensive public process to determine the future of the site.
He would like to see some of the heritage buildings restored for public use, as has been done in other communities, and he expects to have more information about next steps in the coming months. “We want to get ideas from people first before we design anything,” Cheng said.
