The Columns, Yet Again: VII

My wife walks by the Columns every day with two of our boys (ages 5 and 3), while the other kids are in school. Last week, she noticed some young (i.e., teenage) boys out in front of the Columns, cutting the grass. She figured that Capital Academy was bringing them in to maintain the property, but today, talking to a friend at our daughter's softball practice, she found out that the boys are apparently living in the Columns. The friend has seen the buses come to pick up the boys and bring them to BCIT. She has the license numbers of the buses. (I haven't spoken to her myself about this, so I don't have permission to give out her name).

Am I concerned? You bet. During this morning's walk, my wife saw the "boys" out on the Columns property, and someone who looked like a security guard moved to position himself between my son and the "boy." If these "boys" are in need of such close supervision, then they do not belong in a residential area.

Through due process, the company has been denied their proposed use of the facility, which was inconsistent with both prior use and zoning. Last I heard, neither the township nor Judge Sweeney had vacated the Joint Land Use Board's decision to deny Capital Academy's proposed use. If what appears to be happening really is happening, then it seems to me that someone is in contempt of court, if not in criminal violation of the law.

I would expect the press to be all over a story like this, given the township's position and previous reactions. There hasn't been a word since Judge Sweeney's decision in early April.

Previous posts on this subject are available here.