Halifax Regional Municipality received over 2000 calls in 2015 complaining about properties with unkempt lawns and overflowing garbage, but one resident feels that the complaint process is built on a system of “snitching.”

According to records previously released under freedom of information legislation, residents called the city 415,290 times in 2015.

Jim Creelman was the subject of one of those calls.

The reason? His house on Montague Road in Loon Lake.

Creelman’s home was one of the 2442 complaints Haligonians had about unsightly properties last year.

Unsightly property is defined as any building, usually a house, that is partly destroyed, decayed, or deteriorated. The building in question clashes with the character of a neighbourhood or the wellbeing of nearby residents, said Halifax Regional Municipality public affairs officer Adam Richardson.

Watch the video below for an explainer on unsightly property and how the complaint-process works.

The information to make this data visualization was from previously released records under the freedom of information laws. As you can see, the number of calls have mostly been consistent. 

‘Snitch mentality’ at the heart of complaint-driven process

A self-admitted hoarder and owner of a small snow removal business, Creelman says he “collects stuff” and can’t always get around to cleaning it up.

Still, that doesn’t justify the whole process of making a complaint on his home, he says.

First, he says “a rookie officer” who wasn’t flexible with the rules came by to inspect his property. Then, the officer’s supervisor was too involved with his case, something that Creelman says is “not normal.”

Creelman managed to get an extension on clean-up time from the city council committee responsible for granting appeals.

But when he spoke to the committee in September 2015, Creelman did not shy away from discussing his true feelings on calls made about unsightly properties.

“It promotes a snitch mentality,” he said.

Past action, results in the future?

Nancy Lewis, who lives in the North End of Halifax, couldn’t agree more.

In 2009-2010, Lewis started a petition to change the complaint-driven system for inspecting unsightly properties.

She said that her house on North Street has been the subject of calls in the past, but not anymore.

Even though she admits her house needed a paint job, it was still “much better looking” than the rest of the homes on her street that weren’t the subject of complaints at all.

She suspects the calls came from contractors who were painting nearby houses.

Creelman, on the other hand, isn’t sure who made the call since all complaints are anonymous. However, his lawyer suggested he make a freedom of information request to find out.

Lewis thinks it’s a waste of time for bylaw officers to inspect every single complaint that comes their way, especially since they’re mostly frivolous.

She points to the latest issue faced by one of her neighbours as an example.

“She puts one extra garbage bag out and the city is running back and forth,” she said.

Her petition wasn’t much of a success outside her neighbourhood, but it managed to catch the attention of Brenden Sommerhalder, who is running to represent the north end in the upcoming municipal election.

The former director of marketing for the Downtown Business Commission says that complaints about properties can be used as a “civic weapon” by feuding neighbours.

If elected, he says he would like to investigate the issue seriously and assess whether there are suitable alternatives to the complaint-driven process.

For Creelman, the best alternative would be if neighbours simply talked to each other about their concerns instead of going to the city.

That way, he would “feel less harassed.”

But for now, he says he is going to clean up his act — literally.

“I’m out of step with (the city)” he said. “I don’t blame them.”