BRENDA O’FARRELL
The 1510 West

Repeated denials for a demolition permit has left a Pointe Claire homeowner frustrated and threatening legal action against the city.

“This whole process has been really frustrating,” said property owner Ryan Derrig in an interview with The 1510 West.

Derrig is looking to build a new home on a lot on Lakeshore Road, across from Stewart Hall, just east of St. Jean Boulevard. His plan to replace the bungalow, which was built in 1963, with a two-storey house, has already been approved by the city’s urban planning department, Derrig said. But so far, the municipality’s demolition committee will not allow the existing structure to be torn down.

“There’s a structural engineer that says my house has to come down, yet it is ignored,” Derrig  told council.

“If this was the Sources overpass and a structural engineer said this thing has to come down, the demolition committee decided no, we want to keep the heritage of the overpass, and then it fell down. Then, what happens? It’s the same thing,” he said to council without getting a response.

“You’re not reading all the proper information, and it’s getting really frustrating for us,” he added.

More than a year

Derrig submitted his first request for a demolition permit in July 2024, at a cost of $6,000, which was accompanied by a full set of plans for the new house he would build on the 18,000-square-foot lot. In November, the request was denied by the demolition committee, which is composed of three members of Pointe Claire council. The decision was based on a report prepared by a real estate appraiser who relied on an inspection carried out by an architect. Both were contracted by the city.

The report by the appraiser states: “The floor of the master bedroom is not level as it slopes back and to the right. Access to the crawl space beneath much of the room was difficult. It’s possible that the floor was built this way, but it’s also possible that a structural problem is to blame. Call in a structural expert if necessary.”

The report concludes the estimated cost for renovations required would total $64,000, including taxes, yet adds: “estimated amounts for the building renovation must be interpreted with reservations and confirmed by the expertise of specialized contractors.”

Derrig, who is a construction contractor by profession, scoffed at the estimate, saying homeowners could not renovate a kitchen for that amount.

He appealed the decision, supplying the city with a report from a structural engineer and an independent general contractor.

All members of council in January voted on the appeal, deciding to uphold the decision to refuse the demolition permit. According to one councillor, the appeal process does not allow for new information to be considered, including Derrig’s report from a structural engineer.

Derrig responded by filing a lawsuit against the city. Then, earlier this year, the homeowner said the city’s lawyer encouraged him to submit a new application for a permit to tear down the house. This prompted Derrig to pause his court action and submit a second application, this time including the reports from the structural engineer and independent contractor.

At a hearing in June, the demolition committee again refused to issue a permit to tear down the house.

But the second application was considered right after Pointe Claire council amended its demolition bylaw, which subjected Derrig’s application to a different set of standards, including measures, according to a public statement made by councillor Brent Cowan, who serves as chairman of the city’s demolition committee, that are “weighted to favour extension, enlargement, rebuilding, but leaving the basic bones of the building intact.”

According to information posted to Pointe Claire’s website, Derrig’s second application is the first case the city’s demolition committee considered under the amended bylaw. The website includes the real estate and architect’s reports, but does not post the homeowner’s reports by the structural engineer or independent general contractor.

Earlier this month, Derrig asked council why his reports were not included in the documents made public involving his application. He pleaded with council to consider all the information.

“I am hoping everybody sees the proper documents, make sure they are explained by people who can read them,” he told council.

“I’m trying to keep my family in Pointe Claire,” Derrig said, explaining that he wants nothing more than to have a safe home for his four children to grow up in.

Council is scheduled to consider his latest appeal on Aug. 12.