Image: Mike Vanden Bosch / Pattison Media / The City of Chilliwack has taken enforcement action against the property owner of a Lewis Avenue home deemed insecure and unsightly.

By Mike Vanden Bosch

Bylaw enforcement

City of Chilliwack takes action against unsightly, insecure Lewis Avenue home

Mar 6, 2024 | 8:37 AM

CHILLIWACK — The City of Chilliwack has taken enforcement action against the property owner of a Lewis Avenue home deemed insecure and unsightly.

According to Liana Wiebe, communications manager for the City of Chilliwack, city bylaw staff have two active files for a home in the 46100 block of Lewis Avenue, located about two blocks east of Young Road, for unsightly premises and insecure building, following complaints from one complainant.

Wiebe says bylaw officers attended the home on Saturday, March 2 and determined the home was insecure. A contractor was utilized to secure the home at the property owner’s expense. She directed a Fraser Valley Today reporter to contact the Chilliwack RCMP about a possible break and enter that allegedly occurred at the home last week.

Video posted online by a Facebook user and Chilliwack resident on Friday, March 1, and not posted to any group like Chilliwack Beware Crime and Safety or Chilliwack Beware!, shows a male lurking on the back porch of the Lewis Avenue home, acting suspiciously. The male tried to access the back door of the home but discovered it was locked, so he accessed the home by dropping to the ground and wiggling through what appeared to be a doggy door.

Image: Submitted / A still image shows a man in the back yard of a Lewis Avenue home trying to gain access on Friday, March 1. The male wound up gaining access to the locked house through a doggy door.

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Chilliwack RCMP Corporal Carmen Kiener clarified in an email to Fraser Valley Today that a break and enter did not occur at the Lewis Avenue home on Friday, March 1.

“The person that was located on the property had permission from the property owner to be there. As a result, no offence was committed,” Cpl. Kiener said.

The Lewis Avenue home in question is reportedly unoccupied and does not have tenants. The home was built in 1945 and has two bedrooms and a single bathroom. A piece of plywood appeared in front of the garage when a Fraser Valley Today reporter visited the area on Tuesday afternoon, March 5. There is a vacant, single family-sized lot next door to the east of the property.

The property owner of the Lewis Avenue home reportedly lives in Surrey, according to a neighbour.

Wiebe said the property owner has been assessed six fines by city staff for various bylaw infractions. The amount of these six fines is not known.

An email on Friday, February 23, 2024 from a city official advises a neighbour that fines have been issued against the Lewis Avenue property owner.

“I understand that you phoned the Mayor’s office to set up a neighbourhood meeting about the property,” Chilliwack Chief Administrative Officer David Blain wrote in his email. “Bylaw staff have followed up on the property and issued fines as appropriate. The property owner has taken action but under the Residential Tenancy Act there are timelines for hearings and appeals that have to be followed. It takes a landlord several months to evict a tenant legally and that is a process out of the City’s control. We expect to see action on the site as soon as possible.”

The email implies the property owner has taken steps to evict people from the home, though there is a lengthy process involved.

The remainder of Blain’s email pertains to concerns by the neighbour that pit bulls were being raised and/or trained in the back yard for nefarious purposes. The resident said they’re certain the Fraser Valley Regional District doesn’t deal with puppy mills.

“I called them so many times for dogs on our property,” the resident said. “Three puppies got out, thank goodness. They were rescued by [the] pound.”

The neighbour says their family has not been able to enjoy their property due to the activities at the Lewis Avenue home. One of the activities, the neighbour alleges, includes a rooster being killed on the property and its carcass being taken away in tote bags, along with constant noise and people living in a shed on the property. The neighbour says multiple people have been in and out of the home over the past year.