The Riverdale apartment building that was recently subject to drug raids as a result of an RCMP and Department of Justice investigation is now being evaluated for fire code and bylaw violations.

Tenants in a few apartments in the Skyline Apartments on Lewes Boulevard were served eviction notices under the Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods (SCAN) Act on Dec. 31.

The raids yielded 20 rocks of crack cocaine packaged for sale and 4.5 pounds of marijuana, leading to criminal charges laid against four individuals.

The SCAN unit initiated its investigation during the summer of 2015 after having received complaints from concerned citizens.

“During the course of our investigation, we noticed that certain aspects were in disrepair and potentially a safety issue,” SCAN director Jeff Ford said in a recent interview.

“We’re not trained inspectors for fire code, but we noticed these things that may be concerns that other agencies could look into.”

Among the problems SCAN noticed were holes in parts of the building’s drywall, broken equipment, inadequate lighting and garbage strewn in the hallways.

Dave Pruden, the manager of Whitehorse Bylaw Services, said this week his department visited the apartment building on Monday of this week.

As the maintenance bylaw deals with property primarily, the biggest problem was an excess of stored vehicles on the property, he said – some vehicles that are dilapidated, others that are not registered.

As well, there was some garbage and debris on the site that needs attention, he told the Star.

“We’ll try to deal with the (vehicle) owners first,” Pruden said.

“If they’re unable to move the vehicles, we move to the manager of the building.”

Whitehorse fire prevention officer Wayne Smyth visited the apartment building on Jan. 13.

He was accompanied by a few other fire department members, an electrical inspector and an oil burner inspector from the Yukon government.

“There were some issues that were uncovered, (but) none immediately dangerous to life and health,” Smyth said in an interview Wednesday.

The issues were common to that of other buildings, he added.

Smyth confirmed that the holes in the fire separations need to be repaired, but added that it’s not necessarily cause to shut down the building.

The holes are fairly minor, likely the cause of opening a door too hard and it breaking into the wall slightly, he said.

Smyth will complete his final report and give it to the building manager once finished.

“The building manager is more than willing to comply with our wishes. We’re working on it together,” he said.

“It’s quite easy for tenants to come in and do damage (to the building).”

Once the report is complete, the building manager will be given a timeline to meet.

Some of the changes will be time-consuming, Smyth said – and costly.

“It’s a multi-residential building that needs a little bit of work. I have no reason to believe that full compliance will not be met.”

In 2015, SCAN investigated 60 complaints from the public about illegal activity on property and took action in 11 cases.

This particular investigation confirmed frequent and short visits to the apartments at all hours of the day, drugs and money being openly exchanged and other activities consistent with drug trafficking.

In 2015 alone, SCAN investigated 60 complaints from the public about illegal activity on property and took action in 11 cases.