Breaking the rules: Vernon council approves pool permits after the fact
To appease the owners of two multi-million dollar Vernon homes, council has OK'd the building work for their cliff-hanging swimming pools even though one of the properties had done the work without the permit, and the other built a wall higher than they should have.
In the case of 900 Mt. Griffin Road, the homeowner tried to hide the unauthorized work they'd done in order to disguise it from the city's building inspector. The city came close to issuing a stop work order.
Next door at 903 Mt. Griffin Road, they built the retaining wall a bit higher than they were allowed.
However, on July 17, while Vernon councillors expressed their displeasure with the homeowner's unlawful construction they approved it anyway – although not unanimously.
"These homeowners were told not to build a retaining wall this high and they went ahead and did that anyway… and now they’re coming back to us and asking us to allow it?" Coun. Teresa Durning said at the meeting. "It’s a rule and they knew... If we let this slide this time, what’s to say we won’t be back here in the future doing this again."
Coun. Brian Guy shared the sentiment.
"I’m certainly not happy with this approach to knowingly build something offside and then come back and ask for permission," Guy said.
The case involves three houses perched on top of a new subdivision at Middleton Mountain. Anyone who has looked up when heading downtown on Kalamalka Lake Road from the beach will have seen the houses lining the hilltop. The high-end properties all want to build pools that have expansive views of Kalamalka Lake.
At number 904, Brad Spilak applied for a variance permit to allow for an overheight retaining wall and a pool to be built on a steep slope.
"It takes so long," Spilak told iNFOnews.ca. "It just went on and on and on."
Eight months later, and after some pushback, council approved the variance, granting him permission to build the pool. It's not in yet, but he says he's working on it.
Next door at 900 Mt. Griffin Road, homeowner Dan Currie didn't follow the same path.
The Vernon Tim Hortons franchisee owner build his roughly two-and-a-half metre retaining wall without a permit.
A report from city staff says when they visited the property, they found earth from a "no-build no-disturb" area had been pushed against the wall to make it appear shorter than it was.
Moving the fill was "expressly prohibited by the covenant" the report states.
Staff threatened Currie with a stop work order, and he later applied for a permit, albeit retroactively.
This was one of the permits council approved at the July 17 meeting.
"Did the owner provide a rationale for breaching the covenant, was it an accident, or just didn’t care?" Coun. Kelly Fehr asked staff.
"There was no formal rationale around it... they filled the wall to make it look like it was OK," the staffer replied. "The property owner was aware of the rules."
Council heard that no fines or penalties had been issued to the homeowner.
While Currie had taken fill from a prohibited area and then tried to deceive the building inspectors, he still had his variances approved.
Couns. Durning and Fehr voted against this but was defeated by Couns. Guy, Akbal Mund and Kari Gares.
Moving along to 903 Mt. Griffin Road, the situation is a little different, but still bends the rules.
City bylaws dictate that a retaining wall can be built up to 1.2 metres in height without special permission.
Here, homeowner Jim Thomson did apply for a variance permit to accommodate a pool and patio but only after a retaining wall that varies in height from 1.3 metres to 1.8 metres had been built.
"I don't know how you get that wrong," Coun. Gares said at the meeting.
The homeowner wanted council to approve doubling the height of the retaining wall. Rebar was left exposed in the concrete in anticipation of council's permission.
City staff had a different idea and recommended council order Thomson to cut the walls down to size and not grant any additional height.
However, this was a hard sell after having just approved the neighbour's permit retroactively.
"We've already granted variances for those other two property owners, it would not make sense to say no to this one," Coun. Gares said.
Unlike their new build neighbours, 903 Mt Griffin greatly affects some of those adjacent living on Middleton Way.
Neighbour Mike Lowe spoke at the meeting in opposition to allowing the walls to be built even higher. He's lived on Middleton Way for 21 years.
"We always knew one day a house was going to appear... we knew something was coming (but) we were not expecting this," Lowe told council.
Standing in his backyard, it's easy to see where he's coming from.
At 7,000 square feet, 903 Mt. Griffin Road is massive. The house is so big it looks more like an apartment block than a house.
Years ago, the Lowes planted a tree in the yard in anticipation for the day a house was built on the site. They hoped it would give them privacy, but now it's dwarfed by the huge building and pales into insignificance looking more like a shrub than a tree in comparison.
"We're saddened that our new neighbours chose to build on what appears to be every square foot of flat land," Lowe told council.
While much of the technical talk at council focused on setbacks and the limitations of the sloped lot, Lowe pointed out that if the house was a bit smaller they likely wouldn't have the issues.
"Surely they could have built slightly smaller and not had to take the little bit of view that we have left," Lowe told council.
Builder Darren Richmond from Richbuilt Homes told the meeting the house only took up 28% of the site and they were allowed 40%, seemingly ignoring the fact that he was speaking at council in defence of building a wall which would block even more of the Lowe's already greatly diminished view.
While the actual size of the house fits within all city building bylaws and wasn't a question for council – it only needed to approve restraining walls for the pools – it's easy to see why some neighbours aren't too pleased.
"We're not happy about it," one neighbour said.
iNFOnews.ca was told another neighbour didn't go to the public meeting because they were too upset about the house.
And it appears neighbours have been upset since the outset. In a letter sent to council earlier this year concerning the permit for 904, Judi Folks says she is concerned about the ecological effects such as erosion, wildlife corridors and native flora.
"Not only do these huge homes block views and light, but high walls would be an eyesore," she wrote.
She also says approving the first variance would set a precedence for the other properties in the neighbourhood. She was right.
Standing in another yard staring up at the massive house, it's hard to imagine that only recently it was just grassland popular with deer.
"I feel invaded," Tanya says.
Her home backs onto 903 Mt. Griffin Road and the property's suite will have a deck looking directly into her yard.
"I literally feel like my privacy is invaded, we've lost the use of our yard," she said.
She said she thought Vernon was a stickler for strict building rules. She doesn't think that anymore.
The homes look down on the Kal Lake Estates and standing at the bottom of the hill one trailer park resident says she misses the deer that frequented the area.
"I was quite shocked when they were built like that," she said. "I thought they may have been back further."
Coun. Brian Quiring told the meeting that the issue dated back to council's initial approval of the subdivision.
"We create lots and they are difficult lots to build on," he said. "I've been there many times."
While the councillor said he was sympathetic to the homeowners affected, he was blunt in his response.
"Those lots have been... developable, they built a house, they blocked your view, that's what happens," Coun. Quiring said. "You don't own your view in this world."
Coun. Gares was more sympathetic, saying a similar situation had happened to her when she lived on Middleton Mountain.
"I do understand what it means to look at a big wall," she said.
However, she pointed out that council had granted variances to the other neighbours to have their pools.
While the homeowner had wanted to double the size of the retaining wall – which would have blocked even more of the view for those on Middleton Way – council rejected that proposal.
After more than an hour debating the matter, council approved the unauthorized higher-than-allowed retaining walls to remain and permitted some sections that were less intrusive to be increased in height.
The move will allow the homeowners to one day to swim in their pools while looking at uninterrupted views of Kalamalka Lake.
iNFOnews.ca was unable to reach the homeowners of 900 and 903 Mt. Griffin road for comment.
To contact a reporter for this story, email Ben Bulmer or call (250) 309-5230 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.
We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. SUBSCRIBE to our awesome newsletter here.
