Nuisance properties targeted

Photo: Colin Dacre

City council heard from the neighbour of 377 Winnipeg in October, asking for more power to be granted to bylaw to deal with nuisance properties

The City of Penticton is bringing in new financial penalties for “nuisance properties” within the community.

City council approved the fees Tuesday, which will see a property owner charged for more than one nuisance call within 24 hours, or three nuisance calls within 12 months.

RCMP and bylaw visits will cost $200, while Penticton Fire will be $400.

Bylaw manager Tina Siebert says formal offence notices often go unpaid, and the fees will help ensure compliance of nuisance properties and “improve the livability of the city.”

Siebert said the general aim of the fees are to “to compel property owners to take more responsibility for their tenants and the activity that takes place on their property.”

She told council they plan on working with the police and fire department to make sure they are not getting caught in the middle of petty neighbour disputes.

“These are your major types of properties. These aren’t necessarily the neighbour disputes, it's gone beyond a neighbour dispute. These are ones that are significant time and resource users that require response very frequently,” she said.

Councillors were eager to give bylaw more teeth to deal with problem properties, approving the changes unanimously. The fees will be eligible to be tacked onto property taxes if they go unpaid.

City council heard from the neighbour of a infamous Penticton home on Winnipeg St. in October, who lamented the lack of enforcement tools the city bylaw department has.