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Whaling Wall tenant says she 'had enough'

Lit Hair Salon owner plans to permanently close her White Rock business over her concerns about safety.
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Lit Hair owner Shannon Marie works on a client’s hair Monday morning at her White Rock salon.

A tenant of White Rock’s iconic ‘Whaling Wall’ building says she plans to permanently close her business this spring over her concerns about safety.

“I’ve just had it,” Shannon Marie said, owner of Lit Hair Salon, which operates out of the third-storey of the Romich Centre on the corner of Russell Avenue and Johnston Road.

Last month, Marie told Peace Arch News that people were sneaking into the building and hiding during the day then accessing the main facility through the night, and that there was evidence of drug use in a stairwell.

“I felt unsafe,” she told PAN at the time.

Marie – an 11-year tenant – also noted her business was without heat from Nov. 28 to Jan. 24, and that after repeated emails to the building manager, it now works on a sporadic basis.

Building manager Anthony Zhou told PAN by email Saturday that he has hired a security guard and that “the heating issue resolved quite a while ago. The (HVAC) company we hired is on top of the matter. Some of the equipment required maintenance work on (an ongoing) basis.”

PAN visited Lit Hair Salon Monday and the heat was not working.

Marie, who has resorted to a space-heater for her salon, said that while the security guard has prevented people from sleeping in the building overnight, people continue to loiter in the stairwell.

“We’ve had to call the police a couple of times because of course (they) were back in the stairwell. One time, it was quite concerning for me because I could hear a guy yelling in the hallway. Usually, I just ask them to leave,” Marie said.

Marie said she called the City of White Rock and was told the city cannot help.

City communications manager Farnaz Farrokhi told PAN last month that the issue is a provincial one.

Farrokhi took issue with PAN’s earlier article, in which she was quoted saying “the city does not have control over these situations and neither do other municipalities.”

Shortly after that article was posted online Feb. 2, Farrokhi called to ask PAN to “fix” it.

“We don’t have control over (the issue). It’s a provincial matter, it’s not a city matter. You make it seem as though the city doesn’t care. I’m not very happy about that. It’s not fair to us and it’s not factual,” Farrokhi said.

“I’m happy to help you guys get the information but I don’t like being thrown under the bus. Not just me, but city staff. If you guys continue doing this, we’re going to not respond and go to other media outlets to get our message out.

“Make sure that you put in there that this is a provincial matter and, unfortunately, the city is unable to get involved.”

However, a provincial government spokesperson told PAN this week that the province “does not have a government-operated dispute process for commercial tenancies.”

“Commercial-tenancy disputes are generally governed by private contracts between the parties,” Lindsay Byers, media relations for the Ministry Responsible for Housing, said in an email.

Marie said she wasn’t satisfied with the city’s response.

“The city is sitting back and doing nothing. They don’t want to say anything,” Marie said. “Well, these are your businesses that are making the city what it is. Why wouldn’t you take a stand? Why would you just pass the buck and say ‘you have to talk to the province’? And there’s not even a number to call anybody in the province.”

Marie said she’s “had enough” and will close her business to work in a new salon owned by a friend.

“I’m just waiting for the new space to be renovated,” she said. “It could be one month, it could be two months.”



About the Author: Aaron Hinks

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