The Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen board will be presented with three different properties that have been built without permits, ranging from additions to almost an entire house.
RDOS staff are asking for approval from the board of directors on July 4 to put notices on title for each of the properties, and for two of them, to approve injunctive action if the owners don't fix the issues by the end of September 2024.
Those two properties both present health and safety risks due to unpermitted and uninspected work, according to the RDOS reports.
One property, on Hody Drive in Okanagan Falls, had a stop work notice placed on it in 2022 and the owners were asked to apply for permits to legitimize the addition of two secondary suites after they asked for a temporary use permit to use the suites for vacation rentals.
Three days after the notice was sent to the owners, they withdrew their application for the vacation rental and said they would apply for the necessary build permits, but two months later the suites were both being advertised for rental according to the RDOS report.
A year later, in 2023, the RDOS issued a Do Not Occupy notice for the two rental suites as well as sent a registered letter to the owner, which was followed up with multiple bylaw notices as the signage was removed but rentals continued.
In February of 2024, a day after speaking with a contractor about the options for resolving the issues with the suites, the property was put up for sale.
The RDOS wants either a permit to bring the suites into compliance with local regulations or a building permit for the removal of both suites, as well as payment of the bylaw notices to stop the injunctive action before the notice on the title is removed if the board of directors supports the staff recommendation for the property.
The other property on 116th Avenue in rural Oliver, built a foundation and a second storey onto what the RDOS report described as a mobile home.
The construction falls within a watercourse development permit area.
According to the staff report, in June of 2021, a building official visited the property and found that the mobile home was being lifted and a new foundation was being built underneath it.
When the building official returned in December, it was discovered that a second storey was being added to the building. According to the RDOS, an undated letter sent by the property owner that was received in January of 2023 said that the addition was of two bedrooms for his grandchildren.
The RDOS responded by reminding the owner that a building permit was still required. Since May of 2023, there has been no further contact with the property owner.
A building permit and safety inspections would be required before the RDOS removes the notice on the title and stops the injunctive action if the board of directors supports the staff recommendation for the property.
The property that wouldn't be subject to injunctive action had an addition built onto an accessory building outside Kaleden.
After a stop work notice was placed in August of 2022, the owners looked into getting a building permit only to withdraw their application after finding out they would require a variance over the building's setbacks.
The next and only other communication from the owners was an email in 2023. To remove the notice on the title, which will show up if the property is put up for sale, a building and variance permit will be required, along with an inspection of the addition.