August 17, 1999

To:Chair and Members, Etobicoke Community Council

From:Urban Planning & Development Services,

David Roberts, Acting Director

Municipal Licensing & Standards Division

Subject:Apartment Building Audit - 2737 and 2757 Kipling Avenue, in the Community of Etobicoke

Purpose:

To report to the Etobicoke Community Council on the results of a building audit conducted on the properties municipally known as 2737 and 2757 Kipling Avenue.

Financial Implications:

There are no financial implications for the City.

Recommendations:

It is recommended that Municipal Licensing and Standards staff continue to conduct apartment building audits at the discretion of the District Manager pending further consideration by the City as to the feasibility of implementing a citywide proactive apartment building audit program.

Background:

On February 17, 1999, Ms. N. Mueller, on behalf of the Community Standards Subcommittee of Crime S.C.O.P.E., (now defunct) appeared before Community Council regarding the lack of maintenance of the apartment buildings municipally know as 2737 and 2757 Kipling Avenue. Ms Mueller further requested that consideration be given to a citywide proactive building audit program for all highrise apartment buildings in Etobicoke.

Community Council was advised that Municipal Licensing and Standards' staff in the West District were in the process of organizing a pilot project to conduct a comprehensive audit of the two apartment buildings in question.

Community Council requested that: - "¼the District Manager, Municipal Licensing and Standards Division, West District, distribute a notice to the residents of 2737 and 2757 Kipling Avenue advising them of the building audit to be conducted at those addresses, such notice to include the procedure for requesting inspection of individual units, and submit a report to the Community Council upon completion of the audit;"

Apartment Building Audit - 2737 and 2757 Kipling Avenue continued,

Discussion:

On February 22, 1999 a notice was posted in both buildings advising tenants that City staff would be conducting an audit of the buildings in the near future. The same notice advised tenants of the procedure to follow for getting repairs done in their unit and how to contact City staff to arrange for assistance if needed. Since posting of the notice only 5 tenants have requested our assistance. Based on a total of 728 units (both buildings), the number of complaints received from tenants concerning in-suite repairs were less than 1%. To this date the notice remains posted in both buildings.

The audit of the buildings on Kipling Avenue was modeled after a process established in 1992 in the former City of North York. The audit document itself is formatted in such a way that it guides the officer through the inspection process and addresses all of the various components of the building. This includes the interior of the building (excluding individual units) as well as the building's exterior, including the grounds.

The audit, in addition to being a practical tool used to enforce property maintenance regulations, also provided an opportunity to improve our staff's inspection skills. With the assistance of a Municipal Licensing and Standards officer from our North District Unit, West District officers Rob McIntosh and Vaughn Shaw audited 2737 Kipling Avenue on March 25, 1999. On April 7, 1999, Rob McIntosh and Amedeo Caprara audited the building known as 2757 Kipling Avenue. Staffs' reaction to the audit program was positive. The officers noted that the program was designed to provide a systematic and thorough approach to inspecting a building.

The building know as 2737 Kipling Avenue was constructed in 1974. It is a 23-storey building containing a total of 408 units. The building was audited over a two-week period and a total of 200 deficiencies were identified. The number of deficiencies found is not uncommon given the size and age of the building. On April 22, 1999, a notice was issued to the property owner detailing the deficiencies we found.

Many of the deficiencies identified were associated with the building's common areas. Other deficiencies were found in the building's mechanical rooms. The deficiencies ranged from floors that needed cleaning to plaster repair work, painting and concrete repairs, to name a few. Some of deficiencies were in fact undergoing repair at the time of inspection nevertheless; the work was not finished so they too were spelled out in the notice as items requiring attention. One of the more serious deficiencies noted was with respect to exit signs that were not clearly visible from all locations in the underground garage.

The officer in charge of this case has made a number of follow-up inspections and we are happy to report that as of June 29, 1999, 189 deficiencies have been corrected. The remaining 11 items concern repairs to the underground garage and balconies. There was evidence of deteriorating concrete in the underground garage and to a lesser extent, on balconies. Accordingly, we have directed the owner to provide us with an engineer's report as to the condition of the structures.

Regarding the building known as 2757 Kipling Avenue, it was also constructed in 1974. It is a 17-storey building containing 320 units. As of August 9, 1999, 115 of the 144 deficiencies identified have been corrected and work continues. This building also requires repair to Apartment Building Audit - 2737 and 2757 Kipling Avenue continued, concrete components of the structure and again, we have directed the owner to provide an engineer's report. The owner of the property is cooperated with the City and is carrying out the repairs in a reasonable and timely fashion.

Conclusions:

Our experience with the audit program re-confirms our belief that a program such as this is a useful tool that can be used to insure a reasonable degree of maintenance is performed in commercially operated apartment buildings to the benefit of all concerned. For the tenants it demonstrates that the City is committed to working with them to insure their building is being maintained. Landlords also benefit from a thorough inspection whereby deficiencies are identified within a defined period of time rather than randomly over a period of months or even years. This approach to inspections affords the landlord an opportunity to coordinate maintenance staff and organize repair work thus maximize effectiveness and minimizing costs. The City benefits from not having to utilize limited resources investigating multiple complaints concerned with the same deficiencies. Furthermore, the City is able to establish a benchmark by which the condition of the building can be measured.

As indicated earlier in this report, we plan to continue auditing apartment buildings in Etobicoke on a limited basis pending further consideration of a citywide program. In that regard, the Department plans to have a report addressing the subject matter before the Planning and Transportation Committee later this year.

Contact Name:

David Roberts, Acting Director

Municipal Licensing and Standards

Telephone 394-2532Fax 394-2904

David Roberts, C.P.S.O.,

Acting Director