It’s an unsightly property in downtown Chilliwack that’s changed hands several times in recent years.
The Traders Inn Motor Hotel is looking a little worse for wear these days, with peeling paint, broken windows and damaged signage.
Fencing went up around the 32-unit motel more than a year ago.
A thick file on the property is growing, listing a range of health and safety concerns compiled by City of Chilliwack enforcement staff, including complaints from neighbouring business owners.
Dave Van Dongen, franchise owner of Mr. Lube, which backs onto the old motel property, said “Something definitely has to be done about it.”
Ideally it would be completely renovated, or demolished.
“It has been a problem in the past, but we’ve had no real issues with it since it was bought and the fence went up,” he said. “Still it would be nice to have it dealt with, and make it productive again.”
A water leak last summer did some damage, and the motel, at 45944 Yale Road has been sitting empty, except for a caretaker since RCMP executed a drug raid and made arrests in late 2013.
The property, owned by Surrey-based Chilliwack Country Inn Ltd., is considered derelict, unsightly, a nuisance, and the matter could end up coming before council for a vote in the new year, staff said.
The city’s file on the Traders Inn property is currently circulating through the channels at city hall. It will likely be considered by council for a remediation order in the new year, and possible demolition, staff said.
As it stands, the lack of effort to adequately maintain the property to a high standard of appearance by the owners, are not contributing to downtown revitalization efforts in any way, and rezoning for another use may be preferable.
If council were to approve a remediation order, with the degree of remediation recommended by staff, the property owner would either have to make improvements within a specific time frame — or a demolition order could be next.
At this point the file is awaiting review by the manager of Technical Services, before it goes before council in the form of a staff recommendation for remediation.
