A land owner has done enough to have an unsightly premises tag lifted from his rural property, but the Regional District of Nanaimo has nevertheless authorized staff to remove buildings on site, at the owner's expense.
The property at the 700-block of Nanaimo River Road, known colloquially as 'Easter Island Head Place,' has long been considered a problem property with numerous complaints over a 20-year span. The board ordered current owner Brian Ferstel to clean up the site and remove three buildings deemed unsafe in March due to structural issues.
The property owner requested reconsideration, and at an RDN board meeting Tuesday, June 24, Tina Mercier, manager of bylaw services, told directors that the owner has removed garbage and "tidied a majority" of the site, save for a few piles of sorted metal and junk, which he says will be disposed of. She said the property no longer meets the threshold for an unsightly property.
"A noteworthy consideration is the fact the previous state of the property was largely a result of [the property owner's] brother, who has since passed. [The owner] has taken measures to prevent trespassing to the property, by installing signage ... to obstruct vehicle access entering the property."
However, Mercier also noted that one building was "deconstructed" without proper permitting and the other two "remain in a hazard and unsafe condition" as per assessment and engineering reports. The land owner disputes those findings.
The property is in the midst of forfeiture, according to a staff report, but the RDN still considers Ferstel the registered owner for its purposes as the process is ongoing through 2027. Addressing the board, the property owner reiterated that he had put in a lot of work and stated that a contractor, though not an engineer, had deemed the two buildings could be "salvageable" and that it was "preposterous to say that the buildings need to come down."
Staff said cost estimates were previously done for removal of three buildings, for $50,000 to $100,000.
Doug O'Brien, Parksville mayor and director, thought that instead of demolition waste going to the landfill, consideration should be given to someone who wants to remediate buildings. He favoured giving the owner more time "to at least bring to the building up to code, according to his builder here and then actually require [an accredited engineer] to certify it that it does meet current provincial building regulations, and at least given that opportunity to do so."
Lauren Melanson, Nanaimo Lakes area director, where the property is situated, was against giving additional time.
"There is a 30-person community group that formed specifically out of fear of this property, and they're very active in their complaints and in their vigilance of this property…" she said. "There has been RCMP there within the last week. This is a property that, while I feel for the owner, continues to be a problem."
A motion directing staff to proceed with building removal at the land owner's expense passed, with O'Brien, Nanaimo Mayor Leonard Krog and director Ben Geselbracht voicing dissent.
