Great wall builder to beg for permission
City of Penticton staff has admitted a 7-m wall built without proper permit
The Okanagan Weekend
The great wall of Penticton will go before city council, Tuesday. A variance is being requested for a nearly sevenmeter wall that was already constructed on the property line at 2753 Evergreen Drive and 2764 Cedar Road in Penticton, last October.
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.
City staff has acknowledged the wall went up without the proper permits in place. That incenses neighbour Hugo Deuschle, an 87-year-old homebuilder and property manager who said the value of his property will now decrease.
“Why do we have bylaws if they don’t have to be obeyed?” he said in a previous interview with Okanagan Weekend. “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.”
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.
Staff is recommending a compromise of 4.5 meters, but there are other options listed in the report which includes tearing the wall down.
City manager Peter Weeber described Grizzly as being “high-profile” and admits council has a tough decision ahead of them.
“Right now, where it’s at, is a dispute between two neighbours and council now finds itself in a position where they are going to be judge and jury,” Weeber said.
Efforts to resolve the conflict between the two neighbours have been unsuccessful. The issue of the zoning variance will be during the evening session of council, Tuesday, which begins at 6 p.m.