Winnipeg finds plan to clean up demolition sites not feasible

A new report says that a plan to bill Winnipeg property owners for cleanup costs following a fire may not be feasible.

A new report says that a plan to bill Winnipeg property owners for cleanup costs following a fire may not be feasible.

Some inner city residents are forced to live beside lots filled with rubble for months and sometimes even years following a fire.

In January, a vacant home on Stella Avenue went up in flames and had to be knocked down.

Eight months later, the debris is still there.

Marc Ragot, a neighbour of the home, said the mess is an eyesore and a magnet for crime

"There are people in there picking scrap. My garage recently got broken into because of people coming into the neighbourhood looking for stuff," he said.

With several similar piles across the inner city -- including a massive one on Sherbrook that has been there since a blaze a year and a half ago --council asked for a report in May on the feasibility of the city cleaning up these sites and charging the property owner the costs on their tax bills.