Derelict houses destroyed in Belize City
It has always been a touchy subject, but if the city of Belize is ever going to clean up its act, the derelict buildings will have to go. News 5’s Patrick Jones reports on just what is involved in the process.
Patrick Jones, Reporting
According to the Belize City Council, the decision to put a backhoe through several abandoned buildings in the old capital came after several weeks of notices were sent out to owners, informing them that their properties had become public nuisances.
The campaign started on Slusher Street in the Port Loyola area, where the heavy machine made quick work of two small buildings.
Senior Superintendent of Police Gerald Westby, in charge of coordinating operations between the law enforcement and the Belize City Council, says his office is one hundred percent behind the project.
Senior Supt. Gerald Westby, Community/Police Liaison
“Once they write their request to us, we would be more than happy to be out here. Because most of these derelict buildings are used by criminals on many occasions for illegal activities, including the smoking or drugs and things like that. So we are fully in support of the City Council.”
But the City Council’s wrecking machine came to a full stop on Western Avenue when neighbours argued that the next derelict building on the list was in fact the home of several youths who worked nearby.
After some back and forth, City Council engineers on the scene decided to call off the Western Avenue demolition until the occupants are properly notified of City Hall’s intent to tear the building down.
Even though it was a City Council operation, no one on the scene would grant News 5 an interview about the initiative and the obvious glitches in the system causing problems like this one.
And this one… Back on Slusher Street tempers flared as residents were demanding an explanation from the City council workers, who were hauling away what used to be someone’s home.
According to Kevin Hendy, whose niece owned one of the dwellings that were destroyed, the first he and his family learnt of the City’s plan of attack was not until after the damage had been done. Patrick Jones, for News 5.
Mayor David Fonseca later explained that the public notice informing owners of the derelict buildings to clean them up was published in the newspapers. Fonseca says that the grace period expired on May twenty-third and that the Council has been more than patient in dealing with the structures that are fire hazards and serve as safe houses for criminal activities. As to the Western Avenue house, the Mayor says while there may be a claim that it is currently occupied, a City Council investigation had determined that no one was legally living in the residence. Still, the Mayor says, he will further extend the grace period and will proceed with the demolition only after its expiration.
