Councillors in Sechelt have approved notices on title for three properties, including one that was once used as a grow-op and one leased to a local restaurant.
Local governments place notices on title when a property is not meeting standards under building inspection bylaws and they haven’t been able to get the owners to take appropriate action.
The notices ensure future buyers of a property are aware of any ongoing deficiencies.
In the case of the suspected former grow-op at 5918 Sunshine Coast Highway, the planning department report said the district first became aware of the issues in March 2018 when Sunshine Coast RCMP alerted them that “extensive damage had been done to the interior of the home due to the setup of a grow-op and it was no long habitable.”
The district followed up with a letter to the owners asking them to take out a building permit for the necessary repairs within 30 days. It was never done.
The report goes on to say during a further inspection on Dec. 5, 2018, building and bylaw staff found a large deck under construction without a building permit.
Council approved the notice on title for that property with little debate.
They had more questions about 4774 Sunshine Coast Highway, the site of the Wobbly Canoe restaurant.
According to director of planning Tracy Corbett, the district issued a building permit for tenant improvements in March of 2017, but “the business has been open and operating since the summer of 2017 without many of the required approvals.”
Corbett’s written report said, “Staff have been working with the owner and operator of this business for many months to bring the property into compliance but there are still outstanding deficiencies with respect to building code requirements and other District bylaws.”
As a result, an occupancy permit has yet to be issued and there is “no active business licence.”
“It is the combination of issues that has created some concerns for us,” said Corbett. “We have had a lot of advice on how to move forward and we do have a plan in place, both the lessee and the owner have been apprised of that.”
Corbett said the other bylaw issues include having shipping containers on the property without a building permit, an unpaid landscaping bond, and a lack of a variance permit for the parking area.
Coun. Matt McLean said he was concerned that the public was using a space without an occupancy permit, but Corbett said none of the bylaw issues are health and safety related.
“As a small business owner who just renewed his business licence, I find it shocking that they’ve been able to operate for the last year and a half. That’s all I have to say about it,” said Coun. Alton Toth.
After the notice was approved, Mayor Darnelda Siegers said she wanted to put forward a second motion, “given that this has been in process for over two years,” to specifically direct staff “to take the steps that are needed to bring the property into compliance.”
The situation at a property at 5663 Salmon Drive is more typical of the reasons for placing a notice on title. A building permit was issued in 2014, but the work was abandoned in 2015 with only a foundation and partial framing complete.
The district is requesting the owner apply for a new permit and complete
construction, but the owner has not responded.
Property owners are given a chance to speak to council when staff brings forward requests to place a notice on title. None of the owners of the three properties discussed Jan. 16 came forward.
