Unsightly bylaw passed by council
The town of Osoyoos wants to do something about unsightly premises, and now they've got the manpower to back words with actions.
The thorny issue of unsightly premises has dogged the town, which has consistently stated it simply lacked the manpower to deal with the problem.
However, now that summer's busy pace is over, the town's council passed a bylaw on January 17 to enforce standards of cleanliness on unsightly properties.
Under the new rule, a bylaw officer can serve a municipal ticket if he deems a property has violated the town's standards of cleanliness. The bylaw officer must either serve the notice personally, or by certified or registered mail.
The owner or occupier of the property must respond in seven days within the boundaries of the town, or in 14 days if the owner is an out of town owner.rnIf the notice has not been complied with in that time, the town will either clean the property and charge the owner for the service, or issue a second municipal ticket. The minimum charge for clean-up is $400.
But anyone who violates the bylaw is liable on summary conviction of a fine of not more than $2,000, in addition to the costs of prosecution. Additionally, each day the violation is caused or allowed to continue (past the seven or 14 day grace period) is considered a separate offense.
Councillor Dick Flintoft said at the January 17 meeting that the new bylaw is an improvement on previous regulations.
It was getting to the point (with the previous bylaw) where it was cheaper to pay the fine and have the town clean it up than it was to hire contractors to clean up the mess, he said.
The Town of Osoyoos also approved and appointed three bylaw officers, all employed by South Okanagan Securities Ltd at the January 17 meeting. SOS is the new bylaw enforcement services contractor, and its contract began on January 1, 2005.
Don Moore, who is SOS's general manager, will be the bylaw enforcement supervisor. Steve Marshall is the primary bylaw enforcement officer, and Steve Daniels will be the secondary bylaw enforcement officer.
Town council has been looking to expand its ability to enforce bylaws since the summer, when problems with transients and tourists swamped not only former bylaw enforcement officer Dan Lyver but the RCMP with extra work. The RCMP also had several transfers, and retirements to contend with, giving them less manpower to deal with crowded events such as the Cherry Fiesta, as well as shoplifters and disturbances.
