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By Mike Vanden Bosch

FVRD bylaw enforcement

FVRD takes enforcement action against unlawful building activity at Cultus Lake home where cannabis is reportedly grown

Apr 22, 2024 | 12:09 PM

CULTUS LAKE – The Fraser Valley Regional District bylaw enforcement division has taken bylaw enforcement action against the property owners of a Cultus Lake home where construction activity has occurred without proper authorization amid reported cannabis growing operations on site.

According to a corporate report dated April 11, the Fraser Valley Regional District recommends that the FVRD board authorize staff to file a notice in the land title office against the property on Vance Road, in accordance with section 57 of the Community Charter concerning contraventions of an FVRD building bylaw and the B.C. Building Code.

The property in question on Vance Road occupies 3.7 acres and features a two-storey, single-family home built in 1942, nestled on the outskirts of Cultus Lake.

According to a staff report authored by bylaw enforcement and compliance officer Louise Hinton, FVRD received concerns in August 2021 about a large cannabis growing operation on a property on Liumchen Creek Forest Service Road and that BC Hydro was in the process of installing more transformers. Fire safety concerns were expressed as well.

On August 31, 2021, Technical Safety BC told FVRD bylaw staff that trees were required to be cut down and removed to safely accommodate a “large electrical upgrade” being put in for a cannabis growing operation in the shop structure on the property.

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Between January and August 2022, FVRD bylaw obtained contact information for the owner and mailed three letters to the owner so that it could access the property. On April 26, 2022, FVRD staff learn the property has been sold and mail access letters to the new owner.

The following month, FVRD staff speak with the new property owner, schedule a site inspection and request translation assistance for the owner.

On June 9, 2022, FVRD building and bylaw staff conduct a site inspection and observe cannabis growing items around the exterior property; alterations and structural work to the shop structure to enable cannabis production; cannabis plants present upstairs; a hallway created with a number of grow rooms; and alterations inside the residential dwelling structure that indicate cannabis growing may have occurred. The owner told FVRD staff there was a federal Canada medical cannabis grow license issued to the property. Of note, FVRD staff did not inspect the basement area of the home because the room beyond the access door had significant amounts of mold present.

As a result of this inspection, FVRD posted stop work and no occupancy notes on both structures and conveyed to the property owner that building permits were required for both structures, making it clear that no one was to access the dwelling due to the level of mould present in the lower floor.

However, those admonitions fell on deaf ears. Roughly 10 months later in April 2023, building and bylaw staff conduct a follow-up inspection where the owner and tenant were present. FVRD staff learn the stop work and no occupancy notices were removed; a new retaining wall was built; additional alterations were made to the shop for the purpose of cannabis production since the previous inspection in June 2022; trenching has been dug around the site to run electrical between the shop and around the side and rear of the residential dwelling; mould in the basement has been painted over; the property became unsightly due to rubbish, debris, and building soil being visible; and derelict vehicles have been dumped down the side of the slope around the exterior of the property. A bylaw officer again explains to the owner that a copy of the federal cannabis licence is needed immediately to be submitted to determine if the use could be permitted.

In November 2023, after several counter inquiries were received from a contractor/owner, and bylaw staff were unable to conduct a site inspection, FVRD bylaw met with the owner and family members, who were present for translation assistance. The owner asked FVRD to allow the site to be left intact, to which an FVRD bylaw officer declined and explained what was necessary to resolve bylaw contraventions and safety concerns. An FVRD bylaw officer asked for a copy of the cannabis production license from Health Canada, but learned it was expired and there were no plans to renew it. FVRD made it clear to the ownership that no one should be working on site or in the dwelling for safety reasons. Property owners asked for requirements to be written out for them, to which FVRD staff confirmed a letter would be mailed to them.

Between November 2, 2023 and February 20, 2024, FVRD bylaw staff mailed three enforcement letters and six tickets with little contact from property ownership and no steps initiated from them to attain compliance with bylaw regulations. A letter was sent by registered mail from Chief Administrative Officer Jennifer Kinneman on February 22, notifying the owners of a show cause hearing scheduled for April 11.

As of April 11, FVRD has issued six bylaw enforcement tickets totalling $3,060 in fines for construction without a permit.