A South Kent councillor is hoping that the municipality can do more to deal with derelict buildings across Chatham-Kent.
Councillor Anthony Ceccacci is bringing forward a motion during Monday night's council meeting requesting that administration prepare a report for consideration that outlines the available tools and practices for addressing derelict buildings and properties. It also requests that staff investigate whether any timelines can be shortened or any additional recommendations can be introduced to address the issue.
Ceccacci said his main goal with the report is to have it identify areas the municipality can improve when it comes to dealing with buildings that are deemed derelict and/or problematic.
"We're becoming a community that people are coming to invest and to build in," he said. "I think it's important that we do our part to ensure that any kind of problematic areas and buildings, that we're addressing them to our full potential."
According to Ceccacci, council members consistently hear concerns from Chatham-Kent citizens about condemned buildings and properties that require upkeep or demolition.
He said oftentimes, problematic buildings and properties will have repeat issues such as congregation, safety risks and other negative community impacts.
"I think our building department does a very good job, but if there are some mechanisms that we can use that were not currently doing, I think it's important to find those mechanisms and then utilize them for the benefit of our community," he said.
In addition, Ceccacci said that there are some derelict buildings that have been home to repeated fires over the years, which can put a burden on law enforcement and emergency responders.
"There's times where firefighters are being put in danger because of the fact that these places have had multiple occurrences of fires," he said. "They become dangerous to our frontline workers who are doing their best to protect [us.]"
According to Ceccacci, derelict buildings are currently assessed on a case by case basis and there are certain restrictions that the municipality faces due to provincial laws in place. However, he's hopeful the report will come back with feasible solutions to address any vacant buildings in Chatham-Kent that have sat dormant for several years.