New moves have been made in regards to the status of the former Goodyear lands by the municipality of Clarington, following the property owner’s continued non-compliance with municipal orders.
Municipal staff have been working with the property owner for some time to advance the safe demolition of the main building and secure the site. The building had been declared unsafe and ordered to be demolished; however, the owner has appealed to the Court challenging the order.
Clarington Emergency and Fire Services also previously prosecuted the owner for non-compliance with orders to secure access to the building; however, those charges were dismissed by the Provincial Offenses Court.
In connection with the Court matter, the Municipality’s outside legal counsel retained a structural engineer to review the safety of the site. On August 4, the engineer attended the site with Municipal enforcement Staff; and the assessment confirmed significant safety concerns, including deteriorating building conditions, unsecured areas of the property, hidden site hazards, and evidence of unauthorized access and unlawful work being conducted on site.
Based on the most recent assessment, the property owner was ordered to post 24-hour security on site with a deadline for compliance of August 9. As this order was not obeyed, the Municipality has arranged security for the site and will seek to recover the costs from the owner through the Court process. This 24-hour security is active as of August 11.
Clarington is also proceeding with an urgent Court injunction to authorize the Municipality to do all things necessary to make the property safe (including demolition), and seeking to recover the cost from the owner.
“The safety of our community is our top priority. While this property is privately owned, the Municipality will continue to use every available legal and regulatory tool to address serious safety concerns and hold the owner accountable for complying with municipal orders. Our staff have exhausted numerous enforcement measures and, while following due process, are continuing to pursue appropriate legal and regulatory remedies to ensure the site is secured,” said Mayor Adrian Foster
This has included:
2020 to 2024: Clarington Emergency and Fire Services conducted ongoing inspections and issued multiple inspection orders related to site security. Charges were laid in 2023 for non-compliance with a Fire Code Inspection Order. The matter proceeded to trial in 2024, and the charges were dismissed after the court determined the owner had taken reasonable steps to secure the building.
November 2024: After the municipality became aware of unauthorized demolition activity, an Order to Comply was issued under the Ontario Building Code, and demolition activity ceased. Notices were also issued requiring the owner to secure the site due to safety and fire hazard concerns.
February 2025: A demolition permit was issued for the main industrial building after staff worked with the landowner to confirm plans related to cultural heritage, safety, environmental impacts and the storage of demolition materials.
October 2025: Following the fire at the site, Clarington issued an Order to Remedy an Unsafe Building on the structure that had already been approved for demolition. The property owner has appealed the Order to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, and the matter remains before the courts.
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This is long overdue, I have a feeling the Municipality is only acting on this because of unelected people leading the charge and making noise about it. The Staff and most of council seemed to spinning their wheels on this for many years until we are getting closer to the election. Now they want to show the appearance they are doing something that should have been forced on the owner years ago.