By Sebastian Kanally
Time is ticking for the property owners of Gold Hill Winery on an issue with a secondary building on their property that goes back 13 years. The secondary building in question at 3548 Fruitvale, opposite Road 22 in RDOS Area 3, which is currently being rented out to tenants, is not in compliance with the zoning bylaws.
At the regional district’s Jan. 19 meeting, the board discussed and passed an amended motion that remedial action be taken against the vineyard owners if they do not comply by the June 19 deadline by taking one of three options: demolish the building, decommission the kitchen, or apply for rezoning.
Since there are tenants in the building, the owner must provide four months notice to end the tenancy, therefore the RDOS has given the owners a five month compliance timeline. The motion was amended by Director Spencer Coyne who recommended the board review the matter on June 15, to get an update before the June 19 deadline.
If the owners still do not comply, the RDOS has the authority to remove the kitchen facilities at the owner’s expense.
Representing Gold Hill Winery at the Regional District’s meeting was Jesci Parsons, whose position is Operations and Administration at the Winery. She said that the owners were outside the country and could not attend the meeting.
The current renters were identified by Parsons as a family with a small child who are contributing to the community as healthcare workers.
The building has been inspected and approved for foreign workers and the family intends to use the facility for workers when they can get some. It was mentioned that the Covid pandemic did not allow them to get all the workers they applied for and therefore they rented the building out.
This building has been on the radar of the RDOS all the way back to 2009.
In July 2009 the property owners entered a “second dwelling” covenant with the RDOS, so that they could live in the existing dwelling while constructing another one, with the condition that the building be made uninhabitable, demolished, or removed within 90 days of occupying the new dwelling.
In 2010, an inspection revealed that the owners had decommissioned the kitchen and were using the building as storage.
In May 2021, a building official was on the property for inspections related to another building and noticed that the building in question had been converted back into a four bedroom dwelling and was occupied.
The RDOS then sent them a letter saying they either have to demolish, decommission, or rezone. On June 24, 2022 a representative for the family said they would work to bring the building into compliance.
Since then, there has been no contact from the owners. As Area C Director Rick Knodel said in the meeting, the board got to this point due to lack of contact with owners and queried why there was no contact for so long.
Parsons said she would take responsibility for not moving quicker on this file.
