San F’do Mayor targets illegal structures

FIRST it was zero tolerance on illegal street vending, now San Fernando Mayor Ian Atherly is training his guns on people who construct structures in the city without permission from the relevant authorities. The Mayor said that as a result of such practices, people sometimes “redirect waters from the land indiscriminately,” which causes unnecessary flooding. He was referring to the redirecting of existing waterways such as drains and canals, by people to facilitate the building of these illegal structures, some of which are for vending purposes and others are for living purposes.

“We are not going to be putting up with this, we are going to be vigilant where this is concerned,” Mayor Atherly told Newsday yesterday. He said “Stop” notices had been served at sites found to be in breach of existing City Codes and regulations and in some cases, court action was being taken. Earlier this week, Mayor Atherly briefly visited a site at the corner of High and Penitence Streets where a box drain was being built. He said this was aimed at stopping the perennial flooding in the city, as was the case following heavy thunder showers two weeks ago. The construction of the box drain, Mayor Atherly said, may be completed by weekend. Using the box drain as an example, Mayor Atherly stated, “We have already begun correctional measures to reduce  flooding in the city.”