Saint John will be moving forward to repair a notoriously dilapidated property at 80 Main St. but will forward the bill to the owner, it was decided at council Monday night.

The north-end house, built in 1899, has been sitting empty since before 2020 and has been falling further and further into disrepair.

The house sits in Coun. Barry Ogden's ward, who says the decision is a win.

"In the sense that we want the house fixed up, we want to use it for housing, and we want to preserve our history," Ogden said. 

Coun. Barry Ogden expressed frustration at owners outside of the city buying properties like the one on 80 Main St. and allowing them to fall into disrepair. (Roger Cosman/CBC)

The city will clean up the premises and repair the "unsightly dilapidated conditions" of the Main Street building, a staff report presented to council said. The cost is estimated at about $6,000.

Last April, the city issued a notice to comply to the listed owner, Lisha Lin, to fix the chimney, garage, the broken windows and address the peeling paint, among other concerns. Lin, who does not live in the house, was given 120 days to address the issues.

While the owner did fix some of the property, peeling paint and debris were left untouched and no plans were offered to the city to address them. 

"After receiving the notice, the owner made efforts to address the outstanding items," said Benn Purinton, manager of the city's vacant building program, in a presentation to council members.

     A rear view of 80 Main St. (Nipun Tiwari/CBC)

"The garage at the rear of the property was demolished, the dilapidated chimney was removed, broken windows were repaired and a section of siding was repaired."

Purinton said this work took place in July and August of last year but peeling and missing paint and "unsightly debris" on the property are still there.  

House target of repair program pilot

The Main Street property was one of three to receive compliance notices from the city to repair the unsightly conditions of their buildings as part of the city's unsightly repair program, launched last year. 

The program, an "enforcement tool" for buildings with non-hazardous but otherwise dilapidated conditions, allowed the city to issue notices to repair the neglected properties within a given time frame.

Coun. Brent Harris says the empty building could be rehabilitated to create housing for those who need it. (Jacques Poitras/CBC)

Coun. Brent Harris praised the effectiveness of the program.

"As we pile notice-after-notice up and we do this kind of work, it's just another way for us to push these [owners] to do something or to make it available to the community to do something with," Harris said.

The other two property owners complied and are in the process of repairing their properties. 

It could be housing people, Ogden says

While Ogden says that from a practical point of view it's good the city is tackling the neglected home, he also laments that it isn't being used for anything.

 According to the staff report, the cost of the work will be billed to the property owner and if left unpaid, it will be submitted to the province with a request for reimbursement. (Nipun Tiwari/CBC)

"This is part of our community and everything. And then, you know, we're sitting looking at something that could be housing people," he said.

Ogden also said that it's a poor use of a heritage property.

"One of the reasons people come here in cruise ships is our heritage — but also our heritage belongs to all of us," he said. 

"I don't think that people from away have the right to do this to our heritage. We need to have enough pride to stand up for who we are."

The city will move forward to find someone to conduct the work on the property. 

According to the staff report, the cost of the work will be billed to the property owner and if left unpaid, it will be submitted to the province with a request for reimbursement.