City council is moving to “encourage” owners of derelict buildings to do something with their properties.

Council members passed a bylaw on Monday that will slap fees on the owners of such buildings, Coun. Ted Laking told The Yukon Star on Wednesday.

The bylaw will assess progressive penalties on owners who don’t take steps to deal with their properties, he said.

“So if you want to keep your derelict building, you have to pay a progressively higher fee,” he said. “Year one, they are thinking $1,500 with year two, $3,500, Year three, $5,500, etc. Then, after year four, we’re considering an increasing percentage tied to property value or something.

“The fees themselves won’t be set until we amend the fees and charges bylaw, but those are the initial thoughts,” Laking said.

There are several factors influencing the move. Most properties being targeted are in the downtown core, he said, where they are basically considered eyesores.

Then there is the constant pressure to find more properties to be used for residential developments, Laking said.

Some of these vacant and abandoned properties would be very promising for that use, he added.

“This is a positive step forward for downtown,” Laking said. “These buildings have accumulated over time.”

The city has also taken other steps to encourage remediation of such properties, such as offering some rebates on tipping fees.

“The idea is to use the tax system to incentivize the owners. We don’t want to leave these buildings for decades.”

The new bylaw won’t come into effect until Jan. 1, 2025, to allow time for education and awareness training for the owners by the city, and provides a chance to them to address their properties before the city takes its actions, Laking said.

“There’s a lot of work to do before these buildings are cleaned up.”

The city will be focused on the urban areas, particularly downtown, rather than country residential properties with this bylaw, he stressed.