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‘She flipped me the bird’: Litterbugs leave Abbotsford condo complex’s garden a mess

Car wash expansion will solve some lighting issues, but not that of inconsiderate clients
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An Abbotsford gas station will install neighbour-friendly lights in exchange for being able to slightly expand its car wash. Google Street View image

A resident of a central Abbotsford apartment building is tired of people dumping trash from their cars in her complex’s garden.

Several people spoke last week about a small extension to a car wash at the corner of Trethewey Road and George Ferguson Way.

The car wash owner is being asked to add full “cut-off” lights if he wants to further encroach into a setback area near one of the La Galleria apartment buildings.

Residents spoke of both noise and light issues stemming from the car wash, which predates the apartment building by more than two decades. But while those complaints touch on standard issues that surface when residential areas encroach on older commercial buildings constructed in a less-dense city, one resident had another issue with brazen litterbugs.

“People cleaning out their cars while they wait to get into that car wash are literally walking across to the fence of our units and dumping their garbage into our gardens,” Debbie Klassen told council. “One lady even did it while I was standing on my patio watching her. And when I asked her why she did it, she flipped me the bird and got back into her car.”

Klassen said a garbage can in the vicinity would help.

Coun. Ross Siemens said he sympathized with neighbours, and urged them to contact the car wash owner about their concerns.

And using the variance application to address the lighting issue is a good move, Mayor Henry Braun said.

“This gives us an opportunity to actually fix something.”

RELATED: Abbotsford gas station can extend car wash, if they install neighbour-friendly lights


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