Stalled at the city, rotting over sidewalk

Owners of old Aylmer home delayed in demolishing dodgy balcony

For several months a balcony hung over the sidewalk near a school has been posing a public danger on Symmes Street in Old Aylmer according to the homeowners. However, demolishing the balcony of the Coghlan-Rolston home in Aylmer’s heritage quarter has proved a major challenge.

“The city has been dealing with my file since June and we still don’t have the proper permits,” said Ariane Bigras. “From the beginning we said the situation was urgent yet this information does not appear to have accelerated the process.”

A city spokesperson said that the file for 99 Symmes Street, which involves a municipal heritage grant, is moving forward.

“The replacement project which accompanies the demolition request requires a recommendation from the CCU and a decision from council. The full application was received in early 2016, and it should be presented to these two bodies during the coming months. Meanwhile, the owner can take measures to secure the balcony,” a city spokesperson told the Bulletin. However, the homeowner said that it is no longer possible to stabilize the balcony because all the wood is rotten.

It is true that the project has progressed since being accepted by a municipal employee as it was on the CCU’s agenda. “We received a letter in mid-February saying the project was on the Advisory Planning Committee (CCU)’s agenda, but it was not addressed and we have no idea why. Meantime, we have been telling the city that the situation is urgent and that the balcony will collapse. And the balcony is above the sidewalk and we have students walking there every day,” said Bigras.

Richard Bégin, CCU Chair and Deschênes councillor, does not remember seeing that item on the agenda. “During our February 15 meeting, we treated every dossier. As I previously stated publicly, we never had so many files to analyse. There were more than 40 items on the agenda and close to 450 pages of documentation,” he told the Bulletin. “At the CCU we don’t hold back files, we either accept them, reject them or we return them to the promoter to ask them to consider certain changes. In this case, we did not receive this project.”

The homeowners are losing patience and don’t understand why it takes so long for the city to approve the demolition of their dilapidated balcony.

“The first phase can take up to four months and the second phase with the CCU can take another 6 to 12 months. In all, a homeowner can wait over a year before starting a renovation project in a heritage quarter,” continued Bigras.

“What’s odd is that the employee we were dealing with for our grant application also works with urbanism, but it still takes another 6 to 12 months. I don’t know what he will analyse further. He evaluated our file for four months and then we must wait another 6 to 12 months for the project to be approved?”

According to Mr. Bégin, a strong heritage advocate, if it would not be for all those steps, Aylmer would have lost its rich built heritage like it was the case for other sectors. “In Aylmer the only extra step is to show the documents to the local heritage association and I think it’s a great way of preserving our built heritage. As for the other steps, they are required by law when a building is cited or in a heritage quarter.”

Mr. Bégin is unsure why the file for 99 Symmes Street has dragged on, but he knows the local urbanism office in Aylmer is “extremely busy and extremely productive since September.” Moreover, he said that the waiting period starts once all the required documents are lodged and not when the file is initially submitted.  

Facing long delays with the local urbanism service for their heritage grant, the homeowners made a parallel request for a construction permit, a move the city disapproved. “We were rapped on the knuckles for doing so; they say we can’t skip a step,” said the homeowner.

“We sent pictures to the municipal employee illustrating the state of the balcony and the risk to pedestrians but it did do anything. The delay is unexplainable. Our file might pass at the CCU in March, but there’s no guarantee. If we do obtain a recommendation in March we won’t be able to carry out the renovations before June because we will need to get approvals from public works, hydro, and so on.”

According to Mr. Bégin, there were many urgent files for all of Gatineau in February and perhaps the CCU had to prioritize certain files.

Meanwhile, the homeowners are playing yo-yo with the contractor. “The whole things is absurd. If it was only aesthetic we could live with it, but this is dangerous and the balcony is infested with vermin.”