Records detail Brampton councillor's standoff with city over derelict property
CTV
A derelict property connected to a Brampton city councillor racked up $12,500 in fines in dozens of penalty notices over several months as city officials warned it was becoming a haven for rats and a homeless encampment, records obtained by CTV News show.
A derelict property connected to a Brampton city councillor racked up $12,500 in fines in dozens of penalty notices over several months as city officials warned it was becoming a haven for rats and a homeless encampment, records obtained by CTV News show.
Emails show that Gurpartap Singh Toor, who represents Brampton’s wards 9 and 10, didn’t heed the increasingly terse warnings from a property standards officer that the boarded-up home on Queen Street, just blocks from Brampton’s city hall, was becoming a safety hazard.
“Gurpartap, what is it going to take to get you to bring your property into compliance? Do you not have respect for the city and its bylaws?” asked the frustrated officer in an email to Toor’s councillor account in January.
“How about you stop harassing me at work? Let’s start there,” Toor replied.
Photos taken by the property standards officer show access points in boarded-up windows and doors, garbage strewn through the property, barrels “of an unknown liquid” in a driveway, and mattresses — signs that people were occupying the building, which records show was bought for $1.06 million in 2017.
It was a condition that was intolerable, especially for a main street, one neighbour said.
“There was an entire network or organization of people squatting back there, doing all kinds of shadiness,” said Mark Santarossa, who operates a salon next door.
