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Eviction notices rescinded at former Traveller’s Inn in Victoria

Eviction notices at a 48-unit apartment building have been retracted after the owner discovered he would not be fined for breaking a city bylaw during the rezoning process. “We are absolutely not in the business of evicting people.
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The former Traveller's Inn motel site at 3025 Douglas St. seen last year.

Eviction notices at a 48-unit apartment building have been retracted after the owner discovered he would not be fined for breaking a city bylaw during the rezoning process.

“We are absolutely not in the business of evicting people. It would be heart-breaking to do so,” said Fabrizio Coltellaro, a director with F.C. Douglas Properties. The company purchased the former Traveller’s Inn at 3025 Douglas St. for $6 million in March.

“It was a communication issue,” he said.

The building, managed by Brown Brothers, operates as studio apartments, rented monthly for about $800.

However, it is zoned for motel transient accommodation of up to 30 days.

Coltellaro said he has spent 10 months in the rezoning process and hired two firms to help him along without disrupting tenants.

“I was trying to comply with the city bylaw,” said Coltellaro, citing a city document that states operating without a proper business licence for the zoning could cost $250 a day.

“There was no advantage to kicking people out,” he said. “I thought it was our only choice, to stop operating.”

Residents were issued eviction notices with a copy of the city email stating the building needed rezoning on Wednesday.

When Mayor Lisa Helps got wind of the eviction, she said: “It’s completely unnecessary to evict anyone in this situation.”

According to the city, the applicant can ask for a waiver of the requirement that illegal occupancy be vacated during the rezoning process.

This would avoid the need to evict the tenants.

Coltellaro said he contacted the city immediately after seeing the mayor’s comments and is working with staff to rezone the property. No one will be evicted because of this process, he said.

“We are very supportive of low-income tenants. We know vacancy rates are very low right now,” he said.

spetrescu@timescolonist.com