Town looks for solution on retaining wall issue
Residents on Jasmine Drive in Osoyoos have appealed to the Town of Osoyoos regarding a retaining wall erected last year by a neighbour on Lobelia Drive.
They wish to come to a satisfactory agreement between property owner Ken Nelmes and the rest of the property owners living within 30 metres of the wall.
Concerns about the wall range from pure aesthetics to the issue of safety as well as the argument that the wall encroaches on town property.
In a letter to the Town of Osoyoos, the South Okanagan RCMP Detachment and the Osoyoos Times, residents pointed to the unsightly appearance of the wall, which has several bicycles suspended by ropes on the front face of the wall.
The residents also want a Geotech survey to be done in order to assess possible shifting of the wall since it was erected.
We have the support of our neighbours, who all agree something needs to be done, said June Wallace.
We would like to see the issue resolved in as pleasant a way as possible. This is one of the nicest neighbourhoods in Osoyoos. We all try to get along with our neighbours, she added.
We've had two verbal agreements from the town that the wall should come down, but I would like to see that in writing, said John Wallace.
The neighbours' concerns clearly surround both the unsightliness and the safety of the wall.
The Wallaces fear the bikes may be attractive to children who might then venture up the wall to get to them.
In addition, residents have also said the encroachment onto town property presents a traffic safety issue for a street that is not very wide and has no proper sidewalk in place.
Former engineer Art Purdon also lives in the neighbourhood and has written to the town with respect to his concerns for the structural integrity of the wall and the backfill that went in behind it.
The fact that the wall also fronts a large concrete swimming pool on Nelmes' property is particularly worrisome to Purdon.
Should there be a sudden release of water from the pool, the downstream homes on the east side of Jasmine Drive and the sand banks behind these homes are at risk of extensive damage, Purdon stated in his letter.
The town now has a potential liability and the downstream property owners have an uninsured risk because a homeowner and a contractor constructed a wall without a building permit.
Mayor John Slater said the problem stems from the homeowner not obtaining a building permit to erect the wall. He confirmed that the wall is on town property.
Subsequent to the wall going up, there was an engineer who did approve it as far as a health and safety issue, Slater added.
However, if Nelmes had applied for a permit we would have realized through the site plan the wall was not on his property and the building department would have notified the owner that he needed to move it in by several feet, Slater said.
It's such a huge encroachment that we need to make sure that legally the town is protected from any future damage that it could cause, Slater said.
We're negotiating with the property owner right now to come up with a fair solution that would appease the neighbours and not make it too inconvenient for the property owner.
The neighbourhood is justified in not wanting this great big wall, especially since it is on town property.
We will be meeting with the property owner and the neighbours once we put some sort of encroachment agreement in place, otherwise we will have the wall removed.rnSlater said that within a couple of weeks the town would have some of the numbers and the agreements prepared for the property owner.
The main issue, Slater said, was that he didn't want to expose the town to any liability. Slater also acknowledged the town wants to aesthetically improve the situation.
What we need to do is come up with a solution that's good for everybody, Slater said.
