Couple defend secondary-suite request

Regional district staff oppose variance permit for home in rural Osoyoos

A secondary suite in rural Osoyoos, facing rejection, was given a second chance after the applicants stood their ground.

Merlin Wimmer and his wife, Rae, recently approached the Regional District of OkanaganSimilkameen with detailed plans to build a 900-square-foot suite for Merlin’s mother that would be linked between their home and stand-alone garage. The suite required a variance permit because the gutters on the overhang would encroach their boundary line by 0.8 metres.

Staff also raised concerns about spray from the surrounding farmers and how this would affect future owners of the property.

RDOS staff’s recommendation was to deny the permit, but the Wimmers were given a chance to speak Thursday before the decision was finalized.

“As you know, we sat with the committee here a couple of weeks ago, and really . . . I think they had their minds set before we got there, because it was really biased,” Merlin told directors.

“The whole reason that we’re here today is to make this suite for my mother, and then eventually down the road we’re going to need a live-in caregiver for my wife,” the RDOS board heard.

Merlin also told the RDOS board that all neighbouring properties around his home are at least 500 metres away and he has never had any issues with them.

He also expressed his surprise that the issue of spray and future homeowners — not the boundary line issue — appeared to be what was preventing the permit from being granted.

When it came time for directors to comment, Michael Brydon redirected the conversation to the variance permit and said he believes “homeowners should get to design their homes the way they want.”

“We’re talking about inches and feet here,” Brydon added, “so I would support the homeowners’ application.”

When asked in a separate interview about the spray issue, Rae said the farmer who sprays near their property doesn’t spray toward their home. Regardless, spray does travel, but it’s expected in the area they live in.

“We are AG1,” she said. “So anybody who buys (our house) . . . you know that you’re in farm area. How can you not be prepared to be in spray?

“Their argument was for the people who would come after us, not about us. We’ve lived there for 22 years,” she added.