Lyonel Doherty
Times-Chronicle
Building something contrary to the bylaw and then seeking a variance permit to legally allow it won’t fly too far with Oliver town council.
That was the case recently when council denied an application to increase the width of a Spartan Street driveway from 9.1 metres to 18.3 metres.
Director of Development Services Randy Houle said the previously approved building permit for the recently constructed dwelling at 6304 Spartan Street showed a 7.1-metre wide driveway.
“During construction, a concrete driveway was constructed across the entire width of the property for a total width of 18.3 metres,” Houle said.
The south portion of the driveway is also in contravention of the bylaw because it’s too close to a power pole. The edge of a driveway must be a minimum of two metres from poles.
Houle also said the driveway design does not allow for the proper catchment of storm water. He noted the surface water from the driveway is flowing onto the street.
Houle said staff will commence enforcement to require the property owner to modify the driveway to the allowable width of 9.1 metres, and to remove the portion of the driveway that is too close to the pole.
Given a chance to speak, the applicant said he didn’t know about the width rule at the time of construction. He also noted that many other driveways in Oliver are similar to his.
But Coun. Larry Schwartzenberger said he feared setting a precedent if council allowed the variance.
Fellow Coun. Aimee Grice said she couldn’t support the request, noting the original building plan was not followed, which caused this predicament. “To come afterward to ask for a variance is not the way to go about it.”
Mayor Martin Johansen agreed, saying the original permit clearly showed what was allowed, but the property owner built something different and is now asking for a variance.
The mayor said the situation was simple in that the applicant wasn’t allowed to do what he did, so council should say no to the request.
Councillor Petra Veintimilla said she favours residents being allowed to park on their property, but the construction in question wasn’t done properly.
