Evictions halted
Long-term residents of a Penticton motel and campground who were supposed to be evicted effective Aug. 1 have been granted a reprieve after the B.C. Residential Tenancy Branch caught wind of the situation.
Occupants of the 17-unit Ogopogo Motel and attached 28stall Riverside RV Park were given just six weeks’ notice to vacate after the 2.3-hectare property, which stretches between Riverside Drive and Wylie Street, was targeted for redevelopment by a new owner.
The notices were issued by the new owner, Azura Management, under the B.C. Hotel Keepers Act, which is silent on evictions except to authorize immediate expulsion of guests causing disturbances.
However, the Residential Tenancy Branch is of the view that Ogopogo Motel guests are covered by the Residential Tenancy Act, which requires four months’ notice for renovictions, while the campground is covered by the Manufactured Home Park Tenancy Action, which requires 12 months’ notice and $20,000 compensation for each unit.
The matter is being handled by the Compliance and Enforcement Unit of the Residential Tenancy Branch, which said in a statement it is “fully engaged and working to ensure that landlord and tenants’ rights are being protected.”
The statement also noted the property owner “has expressed a willingness” to work with the branch to ensure the evictions are done properly.
Azura Management president Ewen Stewart said he disagrees with the Residential Tenancy Branch about what legislation is applicable, but is nonetheless participating in the process.
Stewart said most residents have already left and is hopeful those who remain will be out by the end of September once the tourism season tapers off and more local accommodations become available.
“Most people are co-operating and have common sense and are moving on,” he said.
One of the tenants told The Herald people in the motel have been told they now have to be out at the end of November, but if they leave by the end of September they can stay rentfree until then.
“Do I take the two free months, which gives me moving money, or pay rent until November? And what am I going to do then? There’s nothing out there to rent,” said the tenant, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The delayed evictions haven’t stopped Azura from moving ahead with preliminary work required for redevelopment of the site, which was proactively rezoned by the city in 2011 to allow high-density housing in towers up to 15 storeys tall.
A drilling crew was at the site Thursday taking soil samples, while a tree removal company did its work nearby amid rubbish bins that have been scattered around the property.
Stewart is anxious to get cracking because he intends to pre-load the site with piles of sand to help force out water and stabilize the soil — a process that could take 12 to 18 months — to prepare for construction.
Plans for the redevelopment remain a work in progress and will be dictated partly by what the soil tests reveal, according to Stewart, whose company is also behind the high-end Riverside townhouse development next door to the motel and campground.