Editor:
Re: “Sechelt to add fines for abandoned vehicles,” April 30.
For years we and our neighbours have had to put up with unsightly adjacent properties littered with all kinds of garbage including wrecked, derelict or abandoned vehicles. Bylaw enforcement officials have to date been unable or unwilling to properly deal with such issues and have certainly been unwilling to communicate effectively with complainants. Mr. Allen’s comment in the Coast Reporter article seems to suggest that “our fine structure” is the final step. The final step should not stop at minimal revenue for the District of Sechelt but instead should be the ability and willingness of DoS to clean up the property at the property owner’s expense.
And speaking of revenue, a $100 penalty is ridiculous; $100 for anything these days is less than the cost of doing business. The minimum should be at least $500. And hopefully this would apply to each vehicle, not each property owner. This is not clear in the article.
Interesting and sad that DoS chooses to hire more people and add almost 10 per cent to property taxes, far in excess of the inflation rate during the same time period, when very few citizens would have seen a similar increase in their income.
Ron Howes, East Porpoise Bay
