Photo: RDOS

Strong opinions resulted in a tight vote at the Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen board meeting Thursday when they discussed whether to bring the owner of an unauthorized home-made motocross track to court. 

The board heard that a 7.6-hectare Fish Lake Road property in Faulder near Summerland, owned by Rick Leitner, has a large motocross track on it which is against the intended agricultural zoning for the land, and which has spurred noise complaints from neighbours. 

District staff recommended in their report that the board proceed to a court injunction to deal with the issue, but many on the board had concerns, especially after a lengthy presentation from Leitner's lawyer David Polley. 

"In my respectful view, the report is very light on some of the background facts that I believe the board would want to take into account," Polley said. 

He went on to say that his client built the track for his son Brock Leitner, an aspiring professional motocross rider in his early 20s, and that Brock had only used the track a handful of times each year since 2016. Polley also expressed confusion about the alleged noise complaints, and asked the RDOS to delay their decision about a court injunction for a further two weeks to allow him and his client to confer more. 

"It's an important decision, you're deciding to put the regional district into a litigation with, I would suggest, some questionable outcomes," Polley said.

Some on the board agreed with Polley's points. Director Julius Bloomfield, a Penticton city councillor, alluded to the quadruple homicide  that took place on Monday, using it as an argument to postpone court action in favour of letting the neighbours talk together. 

"It's basically a neighbours dispute and this is a very sensitive week for us to be thinking about neighbours disputes, and I would urge the property owner to think about that," Bloomfield said. 

Director Spencer Coyne, Princeton's mayor, also had concerns.

"It's his own personal track," Coyne said. "It's no different than me putting on our farm a dirt bike track around our hay field, that's where I'm confused."

But others on the board, especially those in Summerland and Area F which encompasses Faulder, were firm in their convictions. Director Doug Holmes, a Summerland councillor, said he visited the motocross site recently.

"It was like a moon crater in the middle of that land. I do not see how the agriculture land base is being protected. I don't see any kind of compromise here, I just don't see it," Holmes said "Unless they're prepared to farm that land and keep the motorbikes in the trees, what's the point? It's not a farm, and it should be a farm. It's as simple as that."

Director Riley Gettens of Area F said the community has been patient with the issue for years, but it's time for action. 

"There is a place to have these conversations with witnesses and lawyers," she said. "This is a community that wants to get back into where it was supposed to be [...] they would like some resolution." 

District staff felt similarly. General manager of development services Brad Dollevoet said the time has come for court involvement. 

"We have been working to bring this property into compliance since October of 2017. The landowner has been aware of our position since that date," Dollevoet said. "We've issued tickets, we've went through an adjudication process, so I'm not too sure what more postponing would help."

The landowner's lawyer Polley argued a little more time would be better.

"Perhaps there can be some dialogue. Maybe there's a way short of a Supreme Court proceeding," Polley said. "I'd like to suggest that there be some effort made to work with this property owner."

But board chair Karla Kozakevich pointed out that the owner has known for a year and a half that the track was in contravention of the agricultural use zoning on his land, and he has not attempted to apply for rezoning during that time. 

The board voted 10-9 in favour of moving the issue forward to a court injunction.