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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday May 2, 2007 - 3 Former tenants shocked by state of disrepair Continued from page 1 damaged," said Michelle Knoll, Secretary of the Trafalgar Township Historical Society. "These front five windows go floor to ceiling almost and that's, in my view, what makes it really unique." The house's former residents, Steve Mousseau and his wife Wendy Wright, were among the first to learn of the horrific condition that had befallen their former home. "It looks like a crack house now," said Mousseau, who rented the house from September of 1998 until last January. When a friend remarked about the condition of the house Mousseau and Wright decided to take a look and see for themselves. On Sunday, April 15, they visited the house and were horrified by its dilapidated state. "The rear garage doors were unsecured and flung open. Both doors into the house were open," said Mousseau. "The graffiti is everywhere. When you go upstairs, they've put together some old odds and ends they've found and they have a sitting room where they have tin cans and apple juice cans so they can burn stuff." Upon entering the house, Mousseau heard footsteps in a different room and after calling out three teenage boys appeared. "They basically took us on a tour," he said. The highlights of the tour included a pile of human feces on the floor of an upstairs bedroom and a huge hole that had been punched through the floor of an upstairs kitchen to the main floor below. "They were embarrassed," said Mousseau. "They said some of the older guys had been misusing the place and they started to tell us about what a historical home it was." The development company Great Gulf Homes, which took possession of the Squire James Appelbe House after Mousseau and Wright left in January, is also expressing anger over what has happened to it. "There's a huge amount of frustration and it's unbelievable that others will treat private property this way," said Katy Schofield, vice president of Great Gulf Homes. "We are trying to keep it secure and safe and every time we put a board up a kid goes and takes it down. I don't know if the police are circling the building or not, but it would be real nice if somebody was watching it." Seeing the house in this condition was particularly difficult for Mousseau, as he and Wright had poured so much effort into maintaining the property while they lived there. "When we originally got there the backyard had four old chicken coups and the whole yard was about three feet deep in chicken dung," said Mousseau. "So we re-landscaped it. We brought in a guy with a bulldozer and he flattened the chicken coups and turned it into a really nice yard." Today that yard is littered with debris, a mixture of broken beer bottles, shingles and other pieces of the house. "To have kept it really looking great for nine years and then within two months to have it looking like a crack house was really disappointing," said Mousseau. "We thought we were privileged to live there, we really did." On top of being saddened by what has happened to the house, Mousseau is also concerned for the safety of the young people who are now using it. "The cellar is really a dank pit, really ancient foundations and there's all kinds of stuff down there that is really dangerous," he said. Old wells, including one with the cover THEN AND NOW: The front of the James Squire Appelbe home (above) as it appeared before being boarded up and vandalized (below). removed, also dot the property. and a window had been removed again giving "For them it's just a place to hang where no anyone interested access to the heritage buildone cares, so they don't get bothered, but it's ing. full of safety hazards," said Mousseau. "It's not a A ripped in half `No Trespassing' sign progood situation." vides an indication of just how seriously those After seeing the devastation, Mousseau who have damaged the house are taking the wrote Ward 5 Councillor Jeff Knoll who says company's actions. Great Gulf Homes responded immediately to Acting Inspector Gavin Hayes, of the Halton the news by boarding up the doors and win- Police explained that if a property is repeatedly dows. vandalized, local officers This has proven ineffec- "The officers will attempt to will include the site into tive in keeping trespassers get up and patrol those their regular patrols, but out. admitted this doesn't areas, but I can't guarantee "They got it boarded up always stop determined on Friday to protect it from that that is going to happen vandals. further damage. I went by every day." "The officers will Saturday morning and whoattempt to get up and ever had been the squatters Acting Inspector Gavin Hayes, patrol those areas, but I in that particular building Halton Regional Police can't guarantee that that is had come back and written going to happen every nasty notes on the side of the building," said day." Knoll. Liz Benneian, of the Trafalgar Township Drawings on the freshly-placed boards of a Historical Society, believes the law needs to crossed out swastika and a vulgar proclamation change in regards to heritage building ownerby someone that they had gotten in one of the ship. second storey windows now add to the degrada"The difference with this property is there's tion of the historical home. no one living on the site. Normally, you would "I'm unclear as to whether they got in or have a homeowner living on the site or neighnot, but on the second floor I noticed they bours around the site, but these are isolated broke away a piece of the board," said Knoll. properties," she said. "I think there needs to be If intruders did not succeed in entering the some kind of requirement for owners of herhouse on that day they certainly did a week itage properties to either be living on the site or later. to have the property secured." On Monday, April 30 boards blocking a door Knoll said Great Gulf Homes responded quickly when notified about the problem. "In this particular case I get the sense that Great Gulf homes is as upset about this as we are. In these cases you can adjudicate someone's intentions by their actions and when it was brought to their attention they did react quite quickly and promptly," said Knoll. "I don't think there are any villains in this, except frankly for the ones committing break and entry." Knoll doesn't believe Great Gulf Homes intended for the Squire James Appelbe House to end up in its current state. "There's a lot of people who will call this demolition by neglect and I believe that is the case with some of these properties, but I don't sense that here. I could be wrong, but I hope I'm right," he said. "My intention is not to prosecute the developers." The devastation of Oakville's history may stretch far beyond one ruined heritage building. While speaking with the three teenage boys, that he found in his former home, Mousseau learned more alarming news. "The kids mentioned that there are six other empty houses north of Dundas, all currently being used by the same group of kids for the same purposes," he said. After hearing this, Knoll set out in search of these houses finding one. Known as the Fish house, the building is the birthplace of another prominent Trafalgar figure. Although not as old as the Appelbe House the building is on the Heritage Inventory meaning approval of the town is required before demolition can take place. "From Dundas Street it looks like it's completely secure, but when you go behind the house the doors are open, the windows are all smashed and the house again is similarly devastated and destroyed," said Knoll. He emphasizes the need for parents, now more than ever, to be aware of what their children are doing when not at home. "It's not just the damage that is being done to these 200-year-old houses it's also the danger that exists for the people going into these houses," he said. "They're not playgrounds for kids or anybody for that matter." Although relatively protected now, the future of the Squire James Appelbe House remains uncertain. The Town of Oakville is pressing Great Gulf Homes to properly secure the house in keeping with local bylaws, hitting them with an order to comply with the Standards and Maintenance and Occupancy by-law on April 27. The bylaw orders Great Gulf Homes to erect fences around all structures on the property, as well as around a nearby pond. Jim Barry, Supervisor of ByLaw Enforcement and Licensing, noted the consequences if Great Gulf Homes does not comply. "Both charges under the Provincial Offences Act and/or the actual completion of the work by the town and the charges being put back on the tax roll are possible," he said. Whatever happens, Knoll says the home must remain part of Oakville. "The Appelbe House without any doubt and without any argument needs to be preserved in some fashion," he said. "It is a significant house and a significant cultural and historical asset in north Oakville. So, whether the house remains in situ, is moved to another location, it absolutely has to be saved, but that's going to require cooperation on (the) part of the developer and the town is going to have to remain vigilant."