(Editor s note: we highly recommend listening to this story.)
But that utopian vision was dashed last week, after the town’s code enforcement officer and fire chief announced that the owner of the property, Akhil Garland, failed to secure proper permits, and has strung together electricity for the properties in a way that creates an immediate safety hazard.
The town gave the residents five days to leave the property, with the power scheduled to be cut to the housing units later Wednesday.
“The timing for this is awful,” said Chief Ed Walker. “Not that there is any such thing as good timing, but the timing for this is awful. You look at where we are for the winter, the holiday season, the weather forecast. All those things. But all of that aside, there really is a present danger, a true danger to the people that are living up there.”
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Monadnock Ledger-Transcript
Published: 12/14/2020 12:48:17 PM
The Town of Peterborough has ordered the 25 tenants and residents of the Walden Eco Village to vacate their residences by Wednesday after finding fire code violations during an inspection of the property last Thursday. The Eco Village, at 36-54 Garland Way in Peterborough, is comprised of 16 buildings, with 14 cottages and tiny houses serving as rental units. “Although formal inspections have not been conducted, it was evident during today’s visit that there are significant code violations that place the structures and their occupants at immediate risk,” Code Enforcement Officer Timothy Herlihy wrote to landlord Akhil Garland, who represents the Garland Family Realty Trust, which owns the property. Garland must cease and desist activity on the site and provide the tenants with alternate housing from Wednesday at 4 p.m. until the structures are properly permitted, according to the order.