Dear Neighbours,
This Bloomfield mess is a disgrace and insult to our community! Does anyone feel a good old fashioned demonstration might work? We could invite the media. One thing the city doesn't like is when the media gets involved ! Trying to do this in a reasonable , political way doesn't seem to be working. What do you think? Ken Malay, Black Street
Dear Neighbours,
Time is not on our side. We will have to work quickly on this protest! If it snows the city will say TOO BAD ,TOO SAD , we'll deal with this in the spring. If it was one of us they would give you a notice that it has to be done immediately, or they would! The city likes to take historical structures,close them for a few years and then say," We would have loved to have saved the building but it it is too much disrepair ." The developers are taking this beautiful historic city and making it into a glass and cement
eyesore. Sincerely,, I'm sure people will say that old geezer is against change. There is nothing wrong with a development strategy, if all the stakeholders are on board with it.
There are at least 8 people so far that want to do this protest.If everyone brought a few people, I don't think the numbers would not be a problem. If we keep focused on the dangers of the sight and how the city caters to development ,we could get this across to the media.If there were any questions on the history of the building and city inaction ,we have at least two people who could write a book on the subject. Ron and Suzanne are experts on the building . Plus, most of us know what went on over the years! So lets get out our cardboard and markers and make some signs! We'll choose a date and do this. I'm not an expert in media involvement but I am sure there are people in the neighbourhood who do know the process.In European cities you can't tear done an outhouse if it has historical significance. I think the Councillor should be invited.We could make a bit of money on a neighbourhood lottery
The winners could be the ones that said he showed up! Yay. I do tend to ramble. It's the teacher in me. Take care, Ken
?
Hello Valerie and Lindell,
We have been following the dialogue about the condition of the neglected Bloomfield School site.
Seeing the photos of the vandalism and the neglect, and watching as the city does nothing speaks to me of apathy and disrespect on the part of the City, and of privilege on the part of the developer.
And, we wonder why the City’s communications with the Bloomfield site's owner are confidential when there are ByLaw notices posted at 2382 Creighton that lists the owner and the fact that, (1) the property is unsightly due to, “a lack of maintenance to the landscaping resulting in overgrown grass….”. This notice gives the owner 7 days to remedy the overgrown grass! And, at the same address: (2) “removing accumulation of debris including scrap wood, scrap metal, shopping cart, branches and other scattered debris and litter…”. Why don’t we see that same information about the unsightly and dangerous situation at Bloomfield? Why is the developer not held to account?
Please stand up and demand that the site be secured and responsibility be taken, as per city regulations.
(And… add this to a long list in this neighbourhood, including the condition of the pathetic so-called pocket playground on Creighton (north of Buddy Daye) and the condition of the exterior of Joseph Howe School (in particular the play area). These neglected sites also say: ‘apathy and disrespect’, and we wonder what unconscious messages we instill in the children who live within this neglect.)
Thank you in advance for hearing what I have to say,
Jane Finlay-Young
Jim Williams
2701 Fuller Terrace
Someone who called 311 to report the unsightly premises was told they need a street address for Bloomfield Schools! The addresses are 2748, 2786 and 2788 Agricola. Ron
Hi Valerie,
As per this pic, I thought bylaw always posted a notice of dangerous and unsightly premises at the location indicating issues and the time frame to address the issues. Where can I find that notice at Bloomfield?
Ron
[cid:54127390-87A2-4E17-9C3B-A62CB481A531-L0-001]
Sent from my iPhone
On Nov 15, 2021, at 10:09 AM, Rodger, Valerie <rodgerv(a)halifax.ca> wrote:
?
Hi Ron
As I stated, I cannot release specific details regarding communications with the property owners. I have an open case, which means that actions are ongoing.
As for what happens during the winter, we do not expect property owners to do things that would be considered unreasonable given the weather. I cannot give you specific details regarding an individual case.
Valerie
From: Ron Skibbens <skibbenr7(a)hotmail.com>
Sent: Wednesday, November 10, 2021 2:36 PM
To: Rodger, Valerie <rodgerv(a)halifax.ca>; Smith, Lindell <smithli(a)halifax.ca>; BNRA <bnranews(a)chebucto.ns.ca>
Subject: [External Email] Re: [Bnranews] Dangerous and unsightly bloomfield
Hi Valerie and Lindell,
Again thanks for your replies.
1. First, Lindell, I appreciate that this dangerous and unsightly premises is now the concern of ByLaw Enforcement. However, I’d appreciate hearing from you about whether the city put any timing constraints on site remediation and/or development as a condition of sale this time. As you’ll remember, the city got burned in that regard when It sold the site to Housing NS and endured 3 years of continued dereliction. Was there a lesson learned from that multi-year debacle?
2. And Valerie, I live in the area and so walk by the site routinely. I sure wish the owner and bylaw enforcement would also since it is so obviously dangerous and unsightly. And although I trust that some debris has been removed, it still appears that hypodermic needles, broken window glass, broken pallets, broken furniture, scattered garbage, broken asphalt and loose bricks litter the site. The lack of exterior maintenance and graffiti is obvious from all sides of the property. In short, it appears that it meets both conditions for ‘dangerous’ as well as nearly all of the conditions for unsightly, as per HRM’s website. As I understand, these are the basic requirements for all land owners:
[cid:image003.png@01D7DA08.CAFE5CA0]
3. Through past experience, it appears that when By Law Enforcement receives a complaint it gives the owner a time limit for addressing the complaint. Please advise what that time limit is for this complaint so that we can continue our dialog as appropriate at the end of that time.
4. Also, I understand that By Law Enforcement suspends some of their monitoring over the winter. Please advise if that pertains to this site, and if so when it stops and starts again.
Thank you both for your continued monitoring of this matter.
Ron
Hey Pete,
If you could provide the following update for Bloomfield residents, that
would be great. Thanks!
Hey Bloomfielders,
Tyson and I wanted to provide everyone with what we hope will be one of our
last updates prior to opening. As you may have noticed, our lovely steel
staircase has been installed as per fire code. Along with that, many of the
major trades and renovations have now been completed or are close to it.
We are now focusing on many smaller jobs that we still need to complete and
more of the business side of things which we haven't had much time for yet.
The fun stuff! We are hoping to be able to get everything needed to open
wrapped up and ready for a soft opening sometime before the holidays. That
said, supply chain delays and holidays can pose challenges, so we may get
pushed into January but either way, we're getting very close!
As part of our final push to bring the business into operation and focus on
the business side of things, we are launching a crowdfund campaign on
Kickstarter, starting tomorrow! I believe our campaign is called "The
Narrows Public House on Gottingen". We need to meet our goal or beyond for
this campaign to be a success in order to get open, so we would greatly
appreciate your support.
You can help by purchasing a reward on kickstarter or simply by spreading
the word to other folks who may be able and willing to do the same. The way
it works is you're basically pre-purchasing a gift card amount at a
discounted rate in exchange for helping us get the funds we need to open up
- Win-win!
Kickstarter requires you create rewards (as opposed to straight gift cards)
for your categories but basically, whatever amount is attached to your
category, you will simply receive a gift card from us for that amount to be
used however you see fit! We really need your help to raise these remaining
funds to get the business ready to go in the coming weeks, so thanks so
much in advance for purchasing yourself and/or for spreading the word.
Our tentative plan is to try and invite folks from the immediate
neighborhood for one of two soft openings we hope to do, so we'll keep you
posted on when we have a specific date and plan in mind for that.
As always, any questions, comments or concerns, please feel free to reach
out to us. Thanks as always for your support and can't wait to finally have
everyone through the house and show you a good time! Thanks for your
patience and kindness.
Cheers,
Myles & Tyson
FYI
Sent from my iPhone
Begin forwarded message:
From: "Rodger, Valerie" <rodgerv(a)halifax.ca>
Date: November 15, 2021 at 10:09:01 AM AST
To: Ron Skibbens <skibbenr7(a)hotmail.com>
Subject: RE: [Bnranews] Dangerous and unsightly bloomfield
?
Hi Ron
As I stated, I cannot release specific details regarding communications with the property owners. I have an open case, which means that actions are ongoing.
As for what happens during the winter, we do not expect property owners to do things that would be considered unreasonable given the weather. I cannot give you specific details regarding an individual case.
Valerie
From: Ron Skibbens <skibbenr7(a)hotmail.com>
Sent: Wednesday, November 10, 2021 2:36 PM
To: Rodger, Valerie <rodgerv(a)halifax.ca>; Smith, Lindell <smithli(a)halifax.ca>; BNRA <bnranews(a)chebucto.ns.ca>
Subject: [External Email] Re: [Bnranews] Dangerous and unsightly bloomfield
Hi Valerie and Lindell,
Again thanks for your replies.
1. First, Lindell, I appreciate that this dangerous and unsightly premises is now the concern of ByLaw Enforcement. However, I’d appreciate hearing from you about whether the city put any timing constraints on site remediation and/or development as a condition of sale this time. As you’ll remember, the city got burned in that regard when It sold the site to Housing NS and endured 3 years of continued dereliction. Was there a lesson learned from that multi-year debacle?
2. And Valerie, I live in the area and so walk by the site routinely. I sure wish the owner and bylaw enforcement would also since it is so obviously dangerous and unsightly. And although I trust that some debris has been removed, it still appears that hypodermic needles, broken window glass, broken pallets, broken furniture, scattered garbage, broken asphalt and loose bricks litter the site. The lack of exterior maintenance and graffiti is obvious from all sides of the property. In short, it appears that it meets both conditions for ‘dangerous’ as well as nearly all of the conditions for unsightly, as per HRM’s website. As I understand, these are the basic requirements for all land owners:
[cid:image003.png@01D7DA08.CAFE5CA0]
3. Through past experience, it appears that when By Law Enforcement receives a complaint it gives the owner a time limit for addressing the complaint. Please advise what that time limit is for this complaint so that we can continue our dialog as appropriate at the end of that time.
4. Also, I understand that By Law Enforcement suspends some of their monitoring over the winter. Please advise if that pertains to this site, and if so when it stops and starts again.
Thank you both for your continued monitoring of this matter.
Ron
Hi Valerie and Lindell,
Again thanks for your replies.
1. First, Lindell, I appreciate that this dangerous and unsightly premises is now the concern of ByLaw Enforcement. However, I’d appreciate hearing from you about whether the city put any timing constraints on site remediation and/or development as a condition of sale this time. As you’ll remember, the city got burned in that regard when It sold the site to Housing NS and endured 3 years of continued dereliction. Was there a lesson learned from that multi-year debacle?
2. And Valerie, I live in the area and so walk by the site routinely. I sure wish the owner and bylaw enforcement would also since it is so obviously dangerous and unsightly. And although I trust that some debris has been removed, it still appears that hypodermic needles, broken window glass, broken pallets, broken furniture, scattered garbage, broken asphalt and loose bricks litter the site. The lack of exterior maintenance and graffiti is obvious from all sides of the property. In short, it appears that it meets both conditions for ‘dangerous’ as well as nearly all of the conditions for unsightly, as per HRM’s website. As I understand, these are the basic requirements for all land owners:
[cid:08790504-88B8-461F-894C-42246F43927F]
3. Through past experience, it appears that when By Law Enforcement receives a complaint it gives the owner a time limit for addressing the complaint. Please advise what that time limit is for this complaint so that we can continue our dialog as appropriate at the end of that time.
4. Also, I understand that By Law Enforcement suspends some of their monitoring over the winter. Please advise if that pertains to this site, and if so when it stops and starts again.
Thank you both for your continued monitoring of this matter.
Ron
On Nov 10, 2021, at 10:55 AM, Rodger, Valerie <rodgerv(a)halifax.ca<mailto:rodgerv@halifax.ca>> wrote:
Hi Ron
As I had stated on Friday, the three open access points identified that day were boarded up that afternoon.
I was on site yesterday (Tuesday) afternoon and found the open access point (the basement window) in your photograph. It was also resecured by 2:30pm. The maintenance worker was also reinforcing some of the other potentially vulnerable spots.
A window that cannot be reached from the ground is not considered easily accessible.
I am working with the property manager on getting the site cleaned up, but for privacy reasons cannot release the details of our conversations. Since your photos indicate that you are on the property on a regular basis, though, I’m sure that you’ve observed that some of the debris has been removed, and I will be following up to ensure that the entire site is cleaned up.
Valerie
From: Ron Skibbens <skibbenr7(a)hotmail.com<mailto:skibbenr7@hotmail.com>>
Sent: Tuesday, November 9, 2021 3:18 PM
To: Smith, Lindell <smithli(a)halifax.ca<mailto:smithli@halifax.ca>>; Rodger, Valerie <rodgerv(a)halifax.ca<mailto:rodgerv@halifax.ca>>
Cc: BNRA <bnranews(a)chebucto.ns.ca<mailto:bnranews@chebucto.ns.ca>>
Subject: [External Email] Re: [Bnranews] Dangerous and unsightly bloomfield
Hi Councillor,
Thanks for forwarding my original email to by-law enforcement. Although Valerie indicated that staff were onsite within a day or two, today I counted 2 breaches into buildings that are still open and easily accessible. And the site is still dangerous and unsightly, of course. I trust that you can put a bit more pressure on by-law to deal effectively with this matter.
And I would still appreciate your reply to my original questions about the city’s knowledge about the owner’s plans and timelines for making the site less dangerous and less unsightly.
Expectantly yours,
Ron Skibbens
<image001.jpg>
<image004.jpg>
Here are a few pictures of 4 access points, hypodermic needles, broken windows and other dangerous and unsightly scenes over there.Its a disgrace that this is in the middle of our fair city.
[cid:AAD41C50-842F-4666-971F-3188664604D8][cid:95D78EA9-5274-44A3-874C-AFC9039C392D][cid:0C24D8BF-C528-47E5-81BF-C4F7D17781BA][cid:07C93DDC-F6E0-4EF4-9EAF-8B9874677D72][cid:323A5A6A-550B-4F94-AFBD-AB21BD21DB05][cid:CD33EBE9-86AF-4982-B9BA-94AA9252A92A][cid:DE8449CA-D5A3-4412-BA7C-83EFAEC62FE0][cid:FA59B80E-E488-4299-B1E2-A28267127B38][cid:C1873BDB-BE7E-45DC-8A9E-47F1310AC197][cid:22245AFB-C540-4D9A-AB39-CD422C82AD3F][cid:AFB19E5A-1A1E-46C8-82EB-3EF251423B14]
Sorry I missed you. I’ll send pics when I’m back home but trust you found at least the 3 ways into two of the buildings like I did
Sent from my iPhone
On Nov 5, 2021, at 2:24 PM, Rodger, Valerie <rodgerv(a)halifax.ca> wrote:
?
Hi Ron
I have a file for that site, and I'm working with the owners to get it cleaned up. I am on my way there to check for any open access points, and will be there in approximately 10 minutes if you wanted to meet me there.
VALERIE RODGER
COMPLIANCE OFFICER II
PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT | BUILDINGS AND COMPLIANCE
H?LIF?X
PO BOX 1749
HALIFAX NS B3J 3A5
C. 902.476.1708
halifax.ca<http://www.halifax.ca/>
