A half-demolished Mayfair house, exposed with asbestos, has some residents concerned.
Signs warning of lung and cancer diseases are taped around the metal fence that surrounds the demolition site.
“It’s not just an issue of asbestos; it’s an issue of if the house topples what if someone gets injured? Kids could get in behind the house and play. Bottom line is you would not see this in a neighbourhood in the suburbs.” Shannon Vinish told CTV.
“We care about our property values and we care about our community. We want to see a vibrant community here; we want 33rd Street to become like Broadway Ave.”
In a written statement, the asbestos poses no health risk.
“The asbestos contained material is blocked off and contained as required by occupational health and safety. As a result, there is no health risk,” Kara Fagnou, director of Saskatoon building standards, said.
Vinish, a Caswell resident who lived in Mayfair for more than ten years, says the demolished house was a boiling point for concerns she has about the neighbourhood.
Mayfair property crime rate increases 30 per cent
Vinish says as the Riversdale neighbourhood is improving, crime is moving north into Mayfair.
According to Saskatoon Police Service, violent crime in Riversdale has decreased 18 per cent and property crime is down two per cent this year.
Meanwhile, the Mayfair neighbourhood violent crime rate has increased seven per cent and property crime increased 30 per cent in 2016-2017.
“There’s been too many negative changes in this neighbourhood,” Daniel Gerle, a Caswell resident for more than 15 years, said.
“There’s been gangs’ moving in here, standoffs with the police, there’s definitely a high level of thefts, break-ins.”
Coun. Darren Hill, whose ward includes Mayfair, said there’s a component of crime in every neighbourhood, but vacant properties “don’t help to address those issues.”
“Vacant properties tend to be blight on the community,” Hill told CTV in a phone interview.
Hill said he is working on creating a bylaw that would give the city more control on vacant properties, like higher taxation and holding landlords more responsible.
“For example, if you have a rental property where police are getting called every weekend, we need some kind of authority to hold the landlord responsible,” Hill said.
Saskatoon Fire Department responds to 2,500 calls about unmaintained properties
Vinish says she wants the city to increase resources to uphold the bylaw that ensures residents are maintaining their properties.
The Saskatoon Fire Department is responsible for responding to calls of unmaintained and “nuisance” properties.
“Graffiti, junk vehicles, long grass and weeds, junk and garbage in a yard, open excavations –- those are some examples of what’s described as a nuisance with the bylaw,” Saskatoon Fire Assistant Chief Wayne Rodger said.
The fire department received 2,500 complaints under the nuisance bylaw this year.
“The demand we have for our property maintenance service has grown exponentially in the 20 plus years we’ve been working with this bylaw,” Rodger said.
The Saskatoon Fire Department is set to file a report to city council at the end of the month detailing the calls and whether more staff is needed.
