If all goes according to plan, all the occupants of an overcrowded house at 3 Gould Place will have moved out as of Monday.
The home has been subject to repeated complaints because neighbours and city officials say it has been housing many more people than the city’s bylaws allow.
Landlord Trevor Matheson, a local realtor, said the plan was to have all the occupants out of the home by Monday. He said he had little else to say at this time but hoped to have a statement once everyone had moved out of the home.
Neighbours have been begging the city for several weeks to do something about the number of construction workers living on the small crescent, saying there have been as many as 30 people living there at one time.
Terri Lee, one of the neighbours, said on Thursday she counted nine workers who showed up at the home for breakfast early in the morning, then watched 16 leave for work.
“There’s still more than a single-family home is supposed to have,” Lee said.
Lee and neighbours like Shelley Robinson have complained about noise from the number of people living at the home, as well as the number of vehicles parked on the tiny crescent. On Thursday Lee photographed trucks again blocking her driveway.
City manager Patrick Draper said a municipal enforcement officer conducted an inspection on Thursday. Draper said he too has heard that everyone will have moved out by Monday.
“I would say we are making progress but we still have a little ways to go before we are all the way there,” Draper said when asked how the inspection went.
The city announced it was performing the inspection after a deadline of June 29 passed with little change. The city had issued a stop order on June 14 and had given Matheson two weeks to comply.
“We want to ensure there is compliance,” said Draper. “We have indicated there may be additional inspections and the landlord has understood and agreed those might occur.”
The entire ordeal has proven to be extremely stressful, Robinson said. Both the neighbours and the workers are aware of the situation, she said.
“It’s tension in this very small cul-de-sac. It’s tense,” Robinson said. “My kids come in at 6 p.m. when all these guys start coming in. [The workers] know we’re stressed out. They know that we get worried once we see them start coming home and driving through the cul-de-sac. It’s now very tension-filled.”
Lee said the situation just feels like an open wound.
“In the morning we’re still getting noise. They’re not running the diesel [engines] as long anymore in the mornings. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate that,” Lee said. “So no it’s not feeling fantastic.”
