Luxury rural property facing second round of injunctive action by regional district

PENTICTON – A prestigious rural property on Highway 3A has run afoul of the regional district again, as regional district staff seek a notice on title for the property from the regional board.

The property, located at 320/328 Highway 3A faced injunctive action last September by the Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen after allegedly undergoing renovations without a permit.

This week’s staff recommendation is to file a notice on title and begin injunctive action after staff discovered a large retaining wall that has been constructed in a riparian area without a building permit.

A regional district building official attended the property on Oct. 18, 2018,  and found an excavator at work constructing the wall, inches from a watercourse development permit area.

A stop work notice was posted on the driveaway gate.

A watercourse permit is needed, followed by a building permit application along with assurance from a professional engineer, before a building permit can be issued and completed.

Regional District Building and Enforcement Services Manager Laura Miller said previous action against the property has yet to be addressed and a resolution will likely come forward at tomorrow’s board meeting, March 7, to combine legal action to address both issues.

The board could also consider other options to injunctive action, which carries a legal cost. It could fail to proceed with enforcement action altogether, post a notice of deficiencies on the property file, or place a notice on title.

The property was listed last summer on the Airbnb website as a “luxury estate, one of a kind, 6,700 square foot residence in 100 acres of countryside and vineyard, with accommodations for up to 20 guests."

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