City Pleased With Unsightly Premises Program

A program helping to address unsightly premises and garbage issues in Saint John is doing better than expected.

The Enhanced Community Standards Program was first established as a pilot project back in 2017.

Chris McKiel, the program manager, said they are well on track to meet this year’s target of 135 cases.

“So far in 2019, we’ve resolved just over 120 cases, we’ve issued 14 notices to comply, and the city has cleaned up one property,” said McKiel.

The program is complaint-driven, but McKiel said staff occasionally find properties on their own which need attention.

Mark O’Leary, the community standards coordinator, said when he arrives at a property, he explains to the owner what the issue is and works with them on timelines.

“We understand people have to work and they can’t stop everything they do to try and clean up maybe something that got a little bit out of hand on them,” O’Leary said.

O’Leary said some people are reluctant to part ways with their items, but city staff are understanding of that.

“Something that somebody else perceives as junk is something very near and dear to someone,” he said. “That’s why we like to work with them on that and try to address how they’re going to deal with those items.”

Both O’Leary and McKiel said they are overwhelmed with the cooperation they get from property owners.

“The only reason we’ve seen the success that we’ve had is due to the tremendous efforts of property owners,” McKiel said.

In addition to making communities look more vibrant and progressive, McKiel said they see the program as a strong enabler of growth.

“By increasing pride in the community and pride in the city, we believe that it will have a positive effect on attracting and retaining people, as well as investment to the city,” he said.

“It’s a huge bang for the buck,” added O’Leary.