By Sebastian Kanally, Times Chronicle
Oliver placed notice on a property title for an unsafe permit-less wall despite questions raised around liability.
The town placed the notice for a structurally unsound retaining wall on the property after the lower neighbour commissioned an engineer’s report on its stability and identified several structural concerns.
At their Dec. 9, 2024 meeting, Oliver Town Council heard testimony from the owner of 841 Bing Ave. who tried to persuade council to delay this action until he could have professionals come out and reassess issues around actions the neighbour may have taken and seek legal counsel.
Council ultimately decided to place notice on the title of the property because the engineer’s report still concludes that the wall is “not performing adequately” and needs to be addressed, despite actions by the lower neighbour that may have impacted the wall’s integrity.
This action by council does not require action from the owner but informs any potential buyers that the property has safety concerns and is in non-compliance.
The retaining wall in question is between 1.8 metres (six feet) and 2.4 meters (eight feet) high and is holding backfill from spilling onto the adjacent property below.
The town has no record of any permits to build a retaining wall.
The wall is out of plumb and is leaning to the east by 12.7 cm (5 inches) to 17.8 cm (7 inches). There are also several visible cracks on the face of the wall. The engineer’s report also noted that part of the wall’s footing is exposed, which results in no frost protection and no preventive support for the wall slipping downhill.
The town’s recent decision comes after a decision at their October 28, 2024 council meeting that the owner would be notified about the issue so that they can find their own solution.
The owner explained that he purchased the property in 2021 and was under the assumption that the wall was fine after he had a house inspection and there was no mention of the wall not being to code.
The owner was requesting more time because “there has been an amended report, provided by Lawrence Riding, P.Eng. concerning some of the actions that the neighbour may have taken that have contributed to the state of the wall.”
He went on to explain, “in the amended report, you can see where the neighbour has excavated dirt, removed trees, pulled roots, and a supporting structure from the footing, directly under my property underneath the retaining wall.”
The original engineer’s report was amended to take new facts into consideration. The report reads landscaping actions, such as removing trees, shrubs and their roots created “void spaces”.
The report also explains that there were “stacked tires filled with soil that built the soil bank upward toward the base of the existing retaining wall footing” some of which were removed.
“This action will have reduced the stability of the bearing soil at the base of the existing retaining wall footing.”
The report continues to explain that “without knowing the age of the existing concrete retaining wall and the extent of any leaning or deflection that was present prior to the landscaping work in March and April 2022, it’s difficult to determine the extent of potential damage related to the landscaping work completed.”
Tom Szalay, interim director of development services for the town explained that the town does not want to get in the way of a “civil dispute” between neighbours, but either way, the report’s conclusion is still the same with the new information.
“In our opinion, the current retaining wall is failing, and new damage will continue to occur at an accelerated rate due to the age and current damage . . . In our opinion, the structural integrity of the retaining wall is compromised,” the report reads.
Councillors noted the difficulty of inheriting such a problem.
Councillor Petra Veintimilla expressed her sympathies, noting that “this isn’t a fun situation for the owner.”
Councillor Terry Schafer agreed, but went on to say, “I still think the notice on title is the most appropriate thing we can do”.
Council’s reasoning was that the work has to be completed no matter who is more at fault for the wall’s structural issues. The notice on title does not stop the owner from conducting his own investigations into the matter.
Mayor Martin Johansen explained, “it’s an unfortunate situation . . . waiting two months I don’t think is going to change any of the facts that this has to be dealt with.”
The owner was very cooperative in the meeting and explained that he had already “learned a lot” from this whole process.
His original plan was to fix the wall when their house came up for refinancing in 2026.
“We have been doing nothing but following the law to the letter of it. My wife operates a daycare out of the home, and I have a business in Osoyoos as well as Oliver. We want to be active members of the community and we are not looking to stir the pot in any negative way.”
