City of Sault Ste. Marie’s legal and construction staff have released two spreadsheets showing their aggressive crackdown on abandoned vacant properties in recent months.

The first spreadsheet lists the 73 completed Provincial Offenses Court matters related to vacant properties as of September 25, 2024.

For each case, it lists the address of the property, the name of the corporation or whether the registered owner was an individual, and the outcome of the court.

The second spreadsheet lists 50 active Building Code Act charges currently in Provincial Criminal Court, updated as of September 25.

Copies of both spreadsheets can be viewed in the photo gallery above.

Many of the properties and owners are familiar SooToday readers of months of investigative coverage based on court records and other sources.

But this is the first time city staff have released a comprehensive summary of their enforcement efforts.

“Each of these matters involved a charge issued to the registered owner under the Building Code Act for failure to comply with a remedial order by failing to comply with the requirements for a vacant property,” said City Attorney Jenna Ricard and Francois Couture. , director of building and status.

“For privacy reasons, the name of any registered owner who is an individual has been removed from the spreadsheet,” Ricard and Couture say in a report to Mayor Matthew Shoemaker and city councilors.

“The City will pursue any means necessary to collect these and other fines by filing unpaid fines against local property and other available legal means of collection,” the report states.

“There are several completed matters listed on the vacant property spreadsheet where the registered owner pleaded to the charge and received a monetary fine under $1,000.

“In these cases, the property was no longer vacant, the property was now leased, and therefore discretion was applied to prosecutors providing deterrence.

“The disincentive being that the registered owners of these properties understand that there will be consequences for not complying with the vacant properties requirements. A vacant property that is occupied aligns with a strategic focus of all levels of government to address the housing crisis,” the report. states.

“The Building Division and Attorney/Prosecutor will continue to focus on enforcement and prosecution of vacant property owners in our community.

“Fines will continue to be imposed when a conviction or plea of ​​guilty to the charge is entered in the Provincial Criminal Court to serve the principle of deterrence.”