Coun. Skylar Franke has submitted a motion to the next meeting of the Community and Protective Services Committee requesting city staff prepare a report about how London can better protect neighbourhoods from “high-risk” vacant buildings. “I want to make sure that those 100 to 150 homes (in London) are as secure as possible, and that we don’t see a repeat of what happened on Base Line,” Franke tells CTV News. Early in the afternoon of July 29, an empty house at 131 Base Line Rd. W. suddenly exploded, critically injuring a man. As the ward councillor, Franke had been pressing the owner to demolish the house since October 2023, after receiving numerous complaints from neighbours about property standards and homeless encampments. Her motion reads, “Vacant buildings that remain unoccupied for extended periods can create significant public safety concerns for surrounding neighbourhoods and are costly on municipal budgets.” Several years ago, the properties at 129-131 Base Line Rd. W. were rezoned to permit a 14-storey apartment building, but owner Asif Sheikh says economic conditions haven’t been conducive to starting construction. He disputes that the house was vacant, claiming it had a tenant until about a month before the explosion, and he had hired a property management company for the site. However, he also admits to owning two previous houses that were destroyed by fire. On April 25, 2024 the house next door at 129 Base Line Rd. W. was severely damaged by a fire in the garage area and was later demolished. He also confirms owning 1310 Adelaide St. N. (at the corner of Windermere Road) where a vacant house on the property sustained significant fire damage on April 20, 2021. “I’ve had another property that’s burned down on Windermere,” he told CTV News during a phone interview on July 30. On Thursday, he confirmed it was also torn down. The property at the southeast corner of Adelaide and Windermere is currently the subject of an appeal to the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) after the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority (UTRCA) refused to grant a Section 28 permit under the Conservation Authorities Act for a commercial redevelopment. Contacted by CTV News on Thursday, Sheikh declined an interview request, but stated he, “supports (Franke’s) motion in principle, but believe the actual problem is the mental health, drug, and homelessness crisis.” Last week, London Police confirmed that the incident has not been deemed criminal in nature, however, the investigation into the blast continues. Franke argues that high risk vacant buildings cost taxpayers a lot of money related to by-law enforcement, fire inspections, and police calls. She wants city staff to consider cost recovery models including enhanced enforcement. “We do have fines that are issued through by-law (officers), but I would like to explore if the fire department is able to do it as well,” she says about potentially having fire inspectors issue municipal fines (Administrative Monetary Penalties) for fire code violations. Those penalties could be escalated in the event of repeated non-compliance. She also believes requiring stronger materials and fencing could improve the security of vacant buildings, “There could be board on board fencing, stronger plywood, (and) better reinforcement for screws so that it actually prevents people from entering the building.” “I’m hopeful that we can explore opportunities for municipally-led disconnections (of electricity and natural gas),” Franke adds. “If we know that there is a building and the landlord’s not doing their due diligence, then maybe there’s an opportunity for the fire department or the City to discuss with Enbridge and London Hydro possible disconnections.” Since the explosion, the debris and tall weeds have been removed from 131 Base Line, and a construction fence surrounds the property. Next door at 129 Base Line Rd., however, there is no fencing. Plants are overgrown on the property and there are several piles of debris from homeless encampments. “We see them night and day in here, sleeping in here, (and) drug use,” says neighbour Dave Brown who walks his dog past the two properties each day. “It’s become an unsafe area and the City shouldn’t have to clean it up. It should be up to the property owner to take care of all this mess.” Franke’s motion requests a staff report by Q2 of 2027. The Community and Protective Services (CAPS) Committee meets on September 8. If approved by Council the report would:
