Marion Council will look at all of its vacant commercial sites, including the ex-Skorpos Garage
Vacant, unused and derelict – one Adelaide council wants something to be done about the commercial sites and will push the owners to “beautify” them.
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Vacant and under-utilised commercial sites are the target of a new Marion Council plan.
At its August meeting, the council voted to survey vacant commercial sites across the region and identify ways to encourage owners to do develop or “beautify” them.
The plan was spurred on by a separate motion regarding the Skorpos Garage site, which has been vacant for more than a decade.
Councillor Bruce Hull asked the council to consider taking “whatever necessary measures including robust legal action if necessary, to finally bring about a satisfactory resolution to the unsightly premises and public eyesore”.
“This is a particularly bad site … here we are all these years on still talking about it,” Cr Hull said.
“If it actually costs money to start using our powers … ratepayers in general will feel that it’s money well spent to have some sort of enforcement to actually make this place better.
“We should be seen as trying to do something and this is very much a site specific approach because this is a ghastly site.”
In 2018, Marion Council declared the Marion Road service station a local nuisance under the Local Nuisance and Litter Control Act.
Since then, the council has ordered the property owner to clean up graffiti a number of times.
The motion was voted down by councillors, who preferred the less-targeted approach of a council-wide analysis of sites.
“Through this exercise we can identify those sites – such as what Councillor Hull is talking about – that are problematic and also identify the behaviour where the landlords aren’t co-operating with us or are really dragging their heels,” Councillor Jason Veliskou said.
“It provides that opportunity and we can monitor it on a ward by ward basis.”