An ailing 79-year-old Oliver resident is playing the role of a modern-day “David” taking on “Goliath.”
Christian Blazicevic said he’s the little guy taking on the Town of Oliver in a dispute over weeds. But he said the Town shouldn’t talk because it needs to clean up its own unsightly premises.
The Town’s bylaw enforcement officer sent Blazicevic a registered letter regarding a complaint about the condition of his property at 811 Fairview Road. A follow-up inspection found his property to be in contravention of the Property Maintenance Bylaw and Traffic Bylaw because of puncture vine and garbage on the boulevard.
The Town gave Blazicevic 14 days to remove the “unsightly” items. The resident was also warned that if he didn’t comply, the Town would clean up the mess and send him the bill. If not paid by December 31, the expenses would be added to his property taxes.
But Blazicevic said nobody had the courtesy to talk to him in person. “Why insult me . . . it’s nothing but threats and a lack of professionalism.”
Blazicevic dealt with the complaint by hiring a couple of people to get rid of the weeds and clean up the garbage (that he says blows onto his property from the high school). The senior can’t do the work himself because he has arthritis and diabetes.
In a letter to the Town, Blazicevic apologized for the infraction and indicated it would be dealt with promptly. But he stressed there was no need to threaten him with additional billing at property tax time.
As for the garbage on the boulevard, he said a few pieces of paper and some sandwich bags appear to originate from students or working journeymen, with a little help from the wind.
“I need to attend to my coffee machine just as you do. Please hold the guillotine in between my clean-ups.”
Blazicevic said he never knew about the problem until he received the registered letter.
He believes all of this could have been avoided if the complainant had simply asked him to remove the weeds.
“I may be old at 79 and crippled from head to toe, but I still have all my marbles to understand the situation without threats, finger pointing and false accusations.”
Blazicevic threw the ball back into the Town’s court by pointing out the unsightliness of weeds on the triangular lot bordering Similkameen Avenue and Fairview Road. He noted this lot owned by the Town harbours puncture vine, which is spreading to nearby properties.
Blazicevic went to the Town hall to file his own complaint about this unsightly lot.
“Is the village of Oliver willing to attend to its own problems and shame as quickly as I attended to mine?
Cathy Cowan, the Town’s corporate officer, said their properties are maintained through the Public Works department, and due to summer vacations and other emergent issues, the upkeep of some properties has fallen behind.
“Public Works periodically sprays problem areas throughout the year (right now weekly), but are noticing puncture vine is spreading and hard to stay on top of.”
As to bylaw enforcement, Cowan said the Town previously took a “softer approach” to encourage people to comply when a complaint was registered. It began with a letter asking the person to clean up, then the bylaw officer would go back in a few weeks to check. If nothing was done, the Town would send a letter indicating the person had 30 days to clean up. If there was no compliance, the Town would proceed with further action. By this time summer was almost over and the property was in worse shape than it was originally, Cowan said.
Today, if a property is not deemed unsightly by the bylaw officer, the Town sends a letter advising the property owner that a complaint was received, but there is no infraction. The owner is simply asked that the property is kept tidy.
Cowan said if the property is deemed unsightly, the Town gives the owner 14 days to clean up. If the property owner contacts the Town in that time period and indicates he or she is going to comply, but requires more time, the Town will work with that person.
“We would prefer for them to look after their property rather than having Town crews go in to clean up the property.”
Cowan said bylaw enforcement becomes an issue through public complaints, noting that bylaw officers do not go out looking for properties that are unsightly.
Shawn Goodsell, director of Public Works, sent a letter to Blazicevic, explaining their attempts to control puncture vine.
He said the Town budgeted more than $23,000 for labour and materials in controlling weeds on boulevards and other areas. But that budget is already gone.
Goodsell said puncture vine seems to be spreading more frequently each year.
He noted that a summer student was hired to pick puncture vine along the canal right-of-way behind Blazicevic’s property.
“We have had a student do this for several years in a row to try to combat this area but still the puncture vine succeeds. This year he picked six full garbage bags and we disposed of them.”
Goodsell agreed the Town needs to do more weed control on the lot across from the high school, which is periodically done.
“We have many different areas that we try to maintain and sometimes may be left longer than others because we are continuously shifting priorities during the busy spring and summer months.”
Goodsell said maintaining the lot on Fairview Road and Similkameen Avenue will become easier as construction at the school subsides.
Lyonel Doherty
Oliver Chronicle
