Delta goes after developer to replace sidewalk
Credit to Author: Susan Lazaruk| Date: Thu, 10 Oct 2019 01:05:37 +0000
Developers of two houses in the Beach Grove neighbourhood of Tsawwassen have stopped construction and left the site in a “mess,” forcing the city to reinstall the public sidewalk and charge the owners for the reconstruction costs, city officials said.
“It’s ripped up and it’s just a mess,” said Delta Mayor George Harvie of the boulevard in front of the lots at 57th Street and 16th Avenue.
“We finally had to use the deposits to replace the sidewalk so that it’s not a nuisance for the neighbourhood,” he said.
Residents have been complaining about the missing sidewalk, which was removed about a year ago when construction on the two houses started, said city manager Sean McGill. The houses are still under construction and “since May, they haven’t made any progression at all,” he said.
City staff haven’t been able to contact the owners, Kulwant and Rauni Malhi, he said.
“It’s time for us to go in,” said McGill. “It’s very unusual for us” to make this move, he said.
“It’s a safety concern. It’s a fairly busy street and there’s a sidewalk only on one side of the street.”
Attempts by Postmedia News to reach the owners were unsuccessful.
The Malhis were granted permission last year to subdivide the spacious corner lot, replacing the existing single-family dwelling with two modern houses with flat-top roof designs, with cedar, stone, glass and panel siding. The owners were required to put up deposits to ensure they replace any trees they remove two-for-one and to landscape the property and replace the sidewalk.
The two lots, at 5701 and 5711 16th Ave., were assessed together at $1.6 million this year.
During the public consolation part of the rezoning process, two neighbours expressed concerns over parking, the impact on privacy and excessive density, according to a council report. But the report said staff said those issues were addressed and they had no concerns with the requested variance, saying, “the site is suited to densification, given its proximity to major transportation routes, public transit, commercial service and community recreation facilities.”