By Don Urquhart, Times Chronicle
The long-running saga of the Oleander Drive property in Osoyoos has finally neared a conclusion with the Supreme Court of British Columbia ordering the owners to bring the building into compliance and complete the construction in a timely fashion or demolish the building.
The property is owned by Murray Randall Bloom and Kathy Lynn Bloom who obtained a building permit to construct a new home at their property at 5810 Oleander Drive in Osoyoos back in June 2018.
The building permit was extended three times and six years later, the house construction has not been completed leaving a partially constructed building that is an “eyesore”.
The Town of Osoyoos says the Blooms have violated a number of municipal bylaws with a partially constructed building that is an eyesore while they live out of a motorhome parked at the property.
In its judgement issued Sept. 11 the high court found in favour of the town declaring the Blooms to be in breach of the Zoning, Building, Good Neighbour, Water and Sewer Bylaws.
The couple is now required to bring the property into compliance with the Zoning and Sewer Bylaws within 30 days, and the other infractions according to the times lines set out in the “remedial action requirement” (RAR) passed by council on Sept. 23, 2023. The RAR sets out the timelines for completing the construction or alternatively applying for a demolition permit and complete demolition.
The town has also been authorized to impound the motorhome on the property which the couple have been been living in while construction has been underway. It has also been authorized to have the building on the property demolished at the property owners’ expense if they fail to comply with the court order.
The owners are also prohibited from occupying or permitting the occupancy of any building or structure on the property.
The court also mandated that no further construction could be carried out at the property without the requisite permits.
The court also awarded court costs, approving the town’s draft bill with Justice Chan determined a half day is justified with the town entitled to an order of $4,464 for costs.
With the home still in the framing stage many of the windows and doors have not been installed and no siding has been installed which has prompted complaints from neighbours about the unsightly state of the property and motorhome.
In June 14, 2023, the building inspector issued and posted a stop work order and do not occupy order and subsequently followed up with another site visit on July 21, 2023.
Town lawyers then wrote a letter to the owners detailing the various bylaw infractions and demanding they cease occupancy of the property and apply for a building permit which had expired in February 2023.
Through August 2023 various actions were undertaken by the town including council resolutions, bylaw enforcement and building inspection visits.
On Aug. 25, 2023 a bylaw enforcement officer and a building inspector attended the property for an inspection, noting that the motorhome was still present despite an order for it to have been removed.
According to the court judgement a handwritten notice was posted at the front door of the building which read “Notice: No Trespassing. No Admittance Except By Your Agreement to Our Terms of Service. Entry Constitutes Agreement”. According to the judgement Murray Bloom was present and refused entry for the inspection.
About three weeks later the town then received a hand written “Notice and Demand” from the Blooms rejecting the demands and bylaws of the town saying they had no “force or effect over the equitable owners of private property”.
Included in the Notice and Demand letter were a list of costs for various items. For example, posting of orders by the town on the property would incur a cost of $7,500; any Osoyoos employee entering the property without invitation would incur a cost of $7,500; and every attempt to force compliance with bylaws requiring a court appearance would incur a cost of $25,000 per hour. And if the Town of Osoyoos wanted the Blooms to apply for a building permit, Osoyoos would have to pay them a fee of $32,000.
The building inspector then prepared a report to the town council, setting out the contraventions of the BC Building Code occurring at the property.
These included no roofing, no cladding, lack of windows and doors, lack of handrails and guards, no insulation and no fire safety systems. The building inspector also outlined concerns about the integrity of the structure as the house was still in the framing stage, and had not had protection from the elements since construction began in 2018.
The report also noted that the last inspection of the property was in September 2020.
The report included a detailed timeline of the steps needed to complete the construction and included a sealed report from a structural engineer confirming that the structural integrity of the house was acceptable for construction to continue following requisite permitting.
The remedial action plan was issued by council later in September laying out the steps and timeline for completion within 52 weeks. This was served on the owners on Oct. 4, 2023.
Nearly three weeks later the building inspector attended the property and noted that since July, work had occurred on the roof, contrary to the stop work order.
The property had been connected to water and sewer services during construction in April 2021 with the initial connection fee paid, but use of the services was never paid resulting in the town disconnecting the water service on Feb. 1, 2024 following a notice in December. Sewage was not disconnected as it was impractical due to the need for excavation.
For their part, the Blooms argued they had a valid building permit up to August 2024. Their argument was that their build has always been treated as a “Complex Building” according to Building Bylaws which means the permit is valid for two years. The high court judge found no evidence to support the claim that the build falls under this category.
They also claim that they were never advised there was any problem with their construction until July 2023. They also claimed that their neighbour had a camera pointed toward their property, which they say has something to do with Osoyoos’ enforcement actions.
The judge also noted that “The Respondents seem to believe the “Notice and Demand” they served on Osoyoos absolves them of any wrongdoing. I note the Respondents have not tendered any evidence to support their claim.”
