The number of workers living at a rented home on Gould Place appears to be within what’s allowed under the city’s bylaws, but that hasn’t brought any relief to neighbours.
The city issued a press release this week saying the home’s owner is now in “partial compliance” with the land use bylaw. A recent inspection found fewer people living at the residence.
Neighbour Terri Lee now believes there are five people living in the home, three of whom are construction workers. There is believed to also be live-in cooking and cleaning staff residing at the house.
“There are definitely fewer (people),” Lee said. “They know they are being watched because they had a recent inspection.”
But that hasn’t stopped approximately four to five trucks full of workers stopping off early in the mornings for breakfast and to pick up what appear to be lunches. Lee said it’s even worse in the evenings when as many as seven trucks full of people come by for supper.
“This issue now is the ongoing restaurant,” Lee said. “My crescent is a parking lot and that’s every single day and weekends as well. That’s four or five cars in the morning. They park, there’s music playing, car doors slamming and talking,” Lee said.
Neighbour Shelley Robinson confirmed there has been little change in terms of the total vehicular traffic and the noise that results from so many people converging on one small cul-de-sac.
“I don’t want people coming and going for meals. We are not a restaurant. We are a residential neighbourhood and (everyone) should respect that,” Robinson said.”
City manager Patrick Draper said the city is aware of the ongoing concerns with respect to people showing up for meals and has done the appropriate health inspection to check the cooking facilities in the home.
Draper acknowledged the landlord – local realtor Trevor Matheson – did not meet a July 8 deadline to have everyone out of the home, but says the situation is changing.
“They are trying to conform,” Draper said of both Matheson and the construction company DCL. “We think they might still be a little outside of what’s allowable.”
Draper said the city would continue to monitor the situation.
But that is little consolation to Lee and Robinson as it has now been longer than two months since close to 30 people moved into the single-family home. They have trouble believing what the city tells them anymore and expect very little to change.
“I’m not convinced this isn’t just a temporary fix,” Lee said.
