City of Powell River council decided to move forward with placing notice of title on three properties owned by Jennifer and Michael Salisbury for a variety of bylaw infractions.
West Coast Endeavours Ltd, the Salisbury’s company, builds and rents homes throughout the city.
At three of the couple’s properties complaints from neighbours brought city staff’s attention to bylaw violations that include illegal construction and secondary suites.
In December 2014, the city received complaints from a neighbour that a change in drainage at the couple’s Hamber Avenue address had caused flooding at their home on Manson Avenue.
After visiting the property, city building inspectors discovered that significant renovations had been made without permits or inspections. The city gave a deadline of January 15, 2015 to have the issues resolved, but problems and deficiencies still stand.
Jennifer, speaking to council on Thursday, September 17, said that the couple have been working with their lawyers over the summer on the issue of an easement to solve the problem, and they had recently hired and brought an architect to the property.
After the Tuesday, September 1 committee of the whole meeting the Salisburys, Mayor Dave Formosa and Councillor Rob Southcott toured the properties and looked for solutions.
Thomas Knight, the city’s director of planning, spoke to council on the issues at the September 17 meeting.
“This is not something the city started in the last two weeks,” said Knight. “We’ve been trying to get this issue resolved for the last 10 months and we’re still not there.”
Knight said that it is the city’s duty to enforce compliance with zoning and building codes. He added the city faces liability issues and could be sued because it has been unable to reach compliance.
Knight said putting a notice on the Salisbury’s titles is the next step the city can take. Council could vote to remove the notice on title once city staff are satisfied requirements have been met, he said.
The council’s decision is the first step in a process that could lead to a do-not-occupy order and legal action if compliance is not reached, added Knight, explaining that there are legal and safety issues at stake.
In April 2014, staff received a written complaint from a neighbour regarding the construction of unauthorized secondary suites in two of the Salisburys’ single-family residences on Charlotte Avenue, one of only a few small pockets within the city that do not allow secondary suites.
After being contacted by the city about the properties in question, the Salisburys applied to have the zoning changed to allow secondary suites. But after three staff reports and a public consultation, council denied the request to change the zoning bylaw.
The Salisburys were given a three-month deadline to have the homes brought into conformity, but according to city staff no action has been taken on the part of the property owners to remove the secondary suites.
Knight said that because the Salisburys have been taking action to resolve the issues, he would not want the city to “be too cavalier” and put the do-not-occupy order on the residence yet.
“It’s partially to ensure that we are shown to be doing our due diligence,” said Knight, “to remove any liability that we are taking action.”
