False Creek residents fed up with lot used as dumping ground
Some residents of northeast False Creek in Vancouver are complaining about a lot in their neighbourhood being used as a dumping ground for construction materials over the past few years.
The lot is littered with portable toilets, old trailers, construction materials and dirt piles, the False Creek Residents Association said Monday.
The lot, belonging to Vancouver-based real estate developer Concord Pacific, is located between Science World and the Plaza of Nations.
'It's pretty gross if you're here in the evenings. There are lots of rats around.' — Fern Jeffries, False Creek Residents Association
"The city is well aware of this eyesore and bone of contention in our community for four years, and they do nothing about it," said Patsy McMillan, co-chair of the association.
"Whenever we ask about it, which is constantly, they just say Concord is in the process of submitting an application for it."
Vancouver city staff said Concord made an application last fall for a three-year storage permit, which has not been issued yet because of issues involving the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.
Planning underway
A spokesman for Concord told CBC News on Monday that the parcel of land is not near the residential towers and shouldn't be too much of a nuisance.
"All the equipment will be removed once Concord Pacific Place is completed. The residents to the east of this site are five city blocks away from the site area," Eric Fung, the company's senior vice-president of construction, said in the statement.
"Planning of the area is underway, and we intend to start the rezoning after 2010. We were requested by VANOC [Vancouver Organizing Committee] and the city to put the project on hold until 2010 to reserve the land for their staging purposes," he said.
McMillan said nearby residents have put up with the dumping ground for four years and something should be done immediately.
"Everybody who lives on Quebec Street looks out at it, everybody who rides their bike past it sees it, everybody who walks past it sees it. It's horrible."
Fern Jeffries, president of the False Creek Residents Association, described the lot as "just a blight."
"It's pretty gross if you're here in the evenings. There are lots of rats around," she said.