Residents of a former Sidney motel are feeling some relief after learning that they’ll be able to stay in their units after the town lifted a “do not occupy” notice from the building.
Tenants moved into the former Cedarwood Inn and Suites on Lochside Drive after the 47-unit motel closed in April.
Resident Eve Cooney, who moved in in May, said the expectation was that she and others could stay for about a year and a half, until the property owner was ready to begin construction on a new housing development.
The site had recently been rezoned and a development featuring 97 new housing units was approved.
But a few weeks ago, a neighbour received a notice that tenants were in illegal suites, Cooney said. “It was a bit of a shock.”
The town said it became aware that the new property owner, GMC Projects, started renting units following the motel’s closure. A change in occupancy status triggers an inspection by town staff to ensure safety measures are in place, which is particularly important with a business that provides overnight accommodation, the town said in a statement.
The inspection turned up “unsafe conditions,” leading to the posting of a “do not occupy” warning on the building, the town said. The building is the only one of its size in the municipality that lacks a fire alarm system that is connected between units and automatically alerts the fire department in case of fire, according to a staff report going to council on Monday.
“In the case of a fire, there is no way to alert other occupants to the immediate danger, or for the fire department to be notified automatically, as is typical in other apartment buildings,” the report says.
Without constant monitoring by motel staff as with typical motel use, this poses a safety concern and similar situations in B.C. have led to serious fires and deaths, the report says.
The town said displacing tenants is not the intention.
“Our intent all along was to ensure the necessary improvements to make this building as safe as possible for the occupants. If we are aware of very real safety concerns and do not act on them, we are not only letting down the occupants, but also putting the Town at significant risk for any liability that may result,” the town said.
The town has been working with the property owner toward compliance “and have made good progress,” it said.
Long-term tenancies were terminated by the owner as of Tuesday, the town said, and the “do not occupy” order was lifted.
While the property owner works with the town to satisfy “fire safety concerns” motel use is allowed and the town expects those who had tenancy agreements to be allowed to remain as motel guests. However, a bylaw prohibits stays of more than 186 days, or about six months, the staff report says.
“We remain very much aware of the housing challenges faced by the current occupants of the Cedarwood and many others in the community. Our goal is to have the safety concerns addressed, so that people may safely occupy the motel until this property is redeveloped in the next 12-18 months,” the town said.
Cooney said she has been told by GMC that she can remain in her suite as a motel guest, although she’s not sure if that will change her living situation financially or otherwise.
“I feel more relieved, still a little uncertain, but more relieved than panicked,” she said.
>>> To comment on this article, write a letter to the editor: [email protected]
