'It's literally a dump': Richmond Hill residents frustrated by garbage piling up at vacant lot

Property partially owned by CIM development firm has been left vacant after development plan failed

Yorkregion.com
April 27, 2021
Jeremy Grimaldi

A propane tank, pallets, bricks and broken glass.

These are just some of the items that can be found at the growing garbage pile on the southeast corner of Elgin Mills Road and Bayview Avenue in Richmond Hill.

Residents are growing increasingly frustrated with the site that has been sitting vacant for more than a year and has become an eyesore for all to see.

Carol Davidson, founder of the Richmond Hill council accountability group, said she sees a bit of a double standard when it comes to large plots of land becoming garbage dumps and private citizens' properties when it comes to enforcement.

"It's a dump, it's literally a dump," she said. "It's an eyesore and whoever owns it is not being held to the same standards as residents. Something tells me if I left my front lawn looking like this I'd be getting a visit quick telling me to clean it up."

She said the rules clearly state that all yards including vacant lots must be kept tidy and that vacant lots should be protected from fire or dangerous conditions.

Ward 3 Coun. Castro Liu said he feels bad for residents who have to look at this site from their windows and admitted this is not the only site in his ward facing this sort of problem.

"It's been a problem, especially during the pandemic when lots of developers can't build," he said, explaining that while the councillor did approve townhouses for this site, nothing was ever completed.

He said the problem here is that the company associated to the site, named CIM, has gone into receivership and now bylaw is looking for the new owners so they can engage in a site cleanup.

In an email Tracey Steele, director of community standards, wrote that she knows about the issue and is taking action to try to solve it.

"Property owners and tenants in Richmond Hill must do their part to meet minimum property standards," she wrote.

Coun. Tom Muench said at least a portion of the land, which has 'water table issues', has been sold.

Liu added there is another site in his ward going through similar problems, namely an abandoned medical building near Leslie North and 16th Avenue.

The phone number associated to CIM, located in Thornhill, has been disconnected.