— Desert Court bylaw will impose $500 fine —
(OSOYOOS TIMES — May 16, 2007) —
An Osoyoos condo building is clamping down on illegal short-term rentals by a few of its unit owners, saying this shows how buildings can help to solve the short-term rental problem in town.
Former Town councillor Ken Davreux, now with Strata Pro Property Management, the property manager for the Desert Court development on 62nd Avenue, issued a news release May 3 announcing the action by Desert Court's Strata Corporation.
Davreux says at an extraordinary general meeting April 7 the Strata Corporation passed a bylaw saying it will fine unit owners $500 per occurrence for any short-term rentals “ and the Corporation will consider it sufficient evidence of the rentals if they find any advertising giving daily or weekly rates, or if they see, by vehicle licence-plate checks in the parking lot, that non residents are using the suites.
This bylaw does not rely on the Town of Osoyoos to enforce the R-7 zoning bylaws, and takes a proactive approach by using intention as sufficient evidence to place a fine, the news release states.
Although a Strata Council cannot enformce the Town of Osoyoos zoning bylaws, they can create a complementary bylaw and enforce it, the release says.
The most contentious short-term rental problem in recent summers has been at the Desert Mirage condo building in east Osoyoos, where about a dozen unit owners support short-term rentals, while resident owners who oppose the rentals say their lives are hell during the summer, with noisy renters creating a disturbance while using amenities like the swimming pool.
This spring the Town of Osoyoos announced it will crack down on the illegal rentals, saying if it finds any evidence of short-term rentals it will prosecute.
But the pro-rental owners at Desert Mirage say they have a legal opinion stating that their CD-1 zoning lets them rent their units out on a short-term basis.
Davreux says the Town should pass a bylaw similar to the one just passed by Desert Court, so it could clamp down on illegal rentals at local developments.
However, Davreux says the Town may be on shaky legal ground if it tries to enforce its rule at the Desert Mirage, since that zoning bylaw could have loopholes in it.
He says if the Town arms itself with a bylaw like Desert Court's, where advertising and vehicle evidence was sufficient proof, then it could prosecute renters at developments such as Casa del Lago.
At Desert Court we've had a few owners who do weekly rentals, and it can be disruptive if you get a bunch of yahoos tearing things up, An internet search found a couple of ads for Desert Court condos with weekly rental rates listed.
