Property owner says wall the height of disrespect
Penticton man shocked to discover seven-metre retaining wall built next to his property; city says wall violates bylaw
Penticton resident Hugo Deuschle believes the only solution to a landowner dispute is — to borrow from Pink Floyd — tear down the wall.
In October, the 86-year-old homebuilder was shocked to discover a nearly seven-metre wall had been constructed on the property line at 2764 Cedar Rd., a two-hectare parcel of land owned by his family, and 2753 Evergreen Drive.
According to city bylaws, a wall may not exceed 1.2 metres within the side-yard setback. The owners of the Evergreen Drive lot applied for a variance permit with the city that allowed for a 2.5-metre retaining wall, but that height is nowhere close to what was built.
“It takes away from the value of my property,” Deuschle said. “If you’re sitting out on the patio in the backyard, instead of looking at the beautiful Okanagan view, you’re looking at this stupid wall. Who wants to stare at a concrete wall that’s 22 feet high?”
Currently, there’s one home on Deuschle’s property, which is rented out to a young family. The tenant had not notified Deuschle of the work being done next door. Deuschle’s goal is to eventually subdivide and develop the property for family housing.
According to a title search of the property, 2753 Evergreen Drive is owned by Wade and Wendy Wagstaff of Okanagan Falls. The Wagstaffs own and operate Grizzly Excavating. Grizzly is currently involved with the downtown revitalization project for the City of Penticton.
Michael Hodges, development infrastructure manager for the City of Penticton, agrees bylaws were not followed. He said the owners did not have a building permit.
“We’ve been dealing with the owner of that wall,” Hodges said. “It’s currently in breach of the zoning bylaw which defines the height of the retaining wall. The owner has made an application to vary the zoning bylaw.”
Hodges said it’s expected to come before city council on May 22, but that could change. City staff were unaware of the structure until after it was completed.
Deuschle is fighting the wall mostly on principle.
“Why do we have bylaws if they don’t have to be obeyed?” he asked. “Why are they asking for a variance permit after it’s been built? The process is that all adjacent neighbours receive a notice in their mailbox and are allowed to voice their opinion to council. They just went ahead and built it.”
When asked for a suggested resolution, Deuschle said, “There’s only one thing that can be done: Tear down the wall, start over and build it properly.”
Wade Wagstaff did not respond to a request for comment.