The city of Whitehorse is suing the owner of a derelict property – after 16 years of lawsuits

Sixteen years after neighbors began complaining, Whitehorse bylaws brought charges against the owner of an abandoned property.

Rubbish, oil drums, disused vehicles and a collapsed building continue to pile up at the Lodgepole Lane site following numerous fines and a clean-up order.

Neighbors say black mud and oil slicks seep out of the yard in the summer and it smells like smoke.

“Every day I come home, this is the first thing that greets me,” said resident Kimpton Gagnon.

“This completely dilapidated property, I see oil leaking and spreading on the road. Plus all the noise and smells and dust that rises from the property as they drive around with their equipment. It's just not a great environment to try to raise a family in.”

No one appears to live on the property near Porter Creek.

But Gagnon said the piles of trash are occasionally “moved around.”

After numerous fines and a cleanup order, the property is still full of trash, oil drums, discarded vehicles and a collapsed building. Neighbors say oil leaks from the trash in the summer. (Katie Todd/CBC)

Environment Yukon documents show complaints about the property date back to 2008.

In 2017, the City of Whitehorse told CBC that the property's owner had been fined “multiple times.”

Environment Yukon took soil samples in 2020 and surface water samples in 2022, both of which showed contamination.

In 2020, the fire department issued an evacuation order stating that no one was allowed to remain on the property until all hazards were eliminated.

Then, in March 2022, the fire department issued a dangerous order giving the owner three months to dismantle the building and clean up the property.

It seems the response was too slow.

“Some remediation and cleanup work was undertaken in the summer and fall of 2023, although overall progress was slower than expected,” community services director Krista Mroz told councilors last week.

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“Charges have been brought by the relevant departments for failure to comply with the deadlines in the Dangerous Conditions Ordinance.”

In March 2022, the fire department issued a hazard order giving the owner three months to dismantle the collapsed building and clean up the property. It appears that didn't happen. (Katie Todd/CBC)

The property has two registered owners.

Court documents show one of them, Len McGinnis, now faces four charges.

You are accused of allowing garbage to be dumped on a highway, property or adjacent public property.

You will also be charged with parking or storing a motor vehicle that is not properly registered and registered and is not parked or stored in accordance with the zoning regulations.

The third count is causing, permitting or permitting a property to be in poor condition or to constitute a danger.

The individual is also accused of failing to comply with an order from the Director of Statutory Services.

Court records show a plea of ​​innocence was entered in late February.

Building rubble, oil drums, unused vehicles and children's toys emerge from the melting snow on the Lodgepole Lane property. (Katie Todd/CBC)

Mroz said bylaw officers were in constant contact with property owners, “one of whom lives outside the territory.”

Gagnon said he was glad the council was “trying to move forward” but he had doubts whether a lawsuit would finally lead to redevelopment of the property.

“Continuing to impose fines will not help resolve the issues at the property,” he said.

“I think it's time for the city to take action and, in accordance with the tax law, seize the property and redevelop it… bring it up to an acceptable standard within the city of Whitehorse and possibly even develop it and put it back on the market. “.”

Gagnon met with the mayor of Whitehorse last week to share his ideas and also offer his help with cleanup efforts.

The case is scheduled to be heard in early June.