Abandoned Buildings
There are approximately 24 units of housing boarded up in the Lowertown area and one large empty lot at the corner of King Edward and St. Patrick. In the past, these buildings were allowed to decay past the point of being salvageable. Recently, a bylaw was passed to protect all future heritage buildings from this kind of neglect by stipulating that owners of boarded up buildings must maintain their units' heating and water systems. Unfortunately, this law is not retroactive and does not affect the current buildings in disrepair. There is no lead person on the Task Force on this file, but it is interested in finding ways to deal with this issue.