A collapsing garage in one of Vancouver’s most sought-after neighbourhoods is not just an eyesore, it’s been deemed a safety hazard.
Neighbours said the garage at the house on Arbutus Street, valued just under $4 million, across from Kitsilano Beach, buckled on Friday.
Ashley Vaughan, who has lived nearby for nine years, told Global News that the house had been left to fall into disrepair.
“It wasn’t until Friday when we kind of heard a weird noise but didn’t think nothing of it and then my son got home from school and was like, ‘You know, like, check out the garage’. And so we came out and seen that it had completely kind of caved in on itself.”
Vaughan added that the previous crack in the foundation was very noticeable.
“I guess the biggest concern was there is a wall there that’s kind of buckling and our kids play on this drive,” she said.
“We’ve got three kids. The boys like to play hockey. Our daughter, she uses a wheelchair lift, so she comes out in the driveway as well. So as soon as that had happened, we had just made sure that the kids stayed off the driveway.”
Vaughan said they did not even know who to call in this situation as no one knows the owner so she called the City of Vancouver and was told that they would send a letter to the owner.
“I just knew that if someone would see the severity of it that they would maybe want to take it a bit more seriously,” she added. “So we also contacted the police and the fire department’s non-emergency number just to say, hey, this is what’s happening. We’re just concerned that it could fall in a driveway or on the road. And we were instructed, again, to just contact the city.”
After posting about it on a local Facebook page, Vaughan said a lot of people reacted to the post and by Saturday night the fire department had come and a city engineer and safety fencing was erected around the garage.
“We had spoken to the realtor that had sold the house and he had mentioned that the owner actually lived in Hong Kong and was hoping to build like a summer home or something for his family,” Vaughan said.
“We know the owner doesn’t live here. There was a renter recently in the last couple of years, a young guy that lives on the top suite upstairs but is just a renter.”
Vaughan said she is concerned about this issue of absentee ownership.
“Where is the accountability on these properties?” she said.
“And so what we have now is a property that’s been kind of left on its own. It hasn’t been taken care of.”
In a statement to Global News, the City of Vancouver said that in the next few days, city inspectors will access the structure and determine the next steps.
“The City is currently reviewing a Development Permit application. As the application is in progress, we cannot comment further on its status,” the city said.
“Existing buildings are assumed to be in compliance with the Vancouver Building By-law in effect at the time of construction. The City issued one order related to untidy premises and a letter related to work without permit to the property owner, both in October 2020.”
Vaughan said she would like to see more action taken.
“The owner hasn’t been here,” she said.
“The owner clearly doesn’t care about the property because it hasn’t been kept up to standards. And so now why are we suffering the cost of the inconvenience of it? And so that’s where I think frustration is starting to really grow.”