City applies for injunction against months-long garage sale in Edmonton yard

EDMONTON — The neighbours are sick of it. They say it’s an eyesore, a nuisance and that it’s bad for the neighbourhood. But, it’s still standing.

Despite objections from neighbours, a long-running yard sale is clinging to life in Edmonton’s McKernan neighbourhood. The sale began in mid-July, with merchandise covering the front and back yards of the property near 78 Avenue and 114 Street. While neighbours have lodged several complaints about the site and a clean-up order has been handed down from the city, the sale is still there.

The city has made an application for an injunction, addressing several issues. One is that the property is in an unsightly condition. Officials also believe the sale is being operated as a business without a licence.

“It’s gone beyond what a normal garage sale would look like,” explained Ryan Pleckaitis, the City of Edmonton’s director of complaints and investigations.

“Something that’s been happening for 90 days where there’s commercial goods for sale is more like a retail outlet than it is a residential yard sale.”

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City classifications state a garage sale can be no longer than three days long, and that one property can’t hold more than three sales per year. While the city hasn’t strictly enforced this law in the past, it plans on enforcing the rule in this case.

READ MORE: Neighbours fed up with ‘unsightly’, ‘ongoing’ yard sale in south Edmonton 

The injunction would allow the city to enter the homeowner’s property to dismantle the site. It was filed Sept. 15 and is currently being reviewed.

The city is advising the community to remain calm.

“I would ask that people in the neighbourhood exercise some patience. I know they’ve been extremely patient up to this point,” said Pleckaitis.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "I would ask that people in the neighbourhood exercise some patience. I know they've been extremely patient up to this point," said Pleckaitis.

“I want to reassure them that we are taking the proper legal steps to be able to enter the property and to take remedial action.”

If the injunction passes, the owner would have 48 hours to dismantle his sale. Officials allege the operator also runs a junk removal business without a licence. They want that stopped until a licence is issued.