The sequel to a recent attack on a West Kelowna woman involving a naked fruit picker is beginning to unfold.
Neighbours in the Scharf Road area are still reeling from Sunday’s incident and are laying part of the blame on a local landlord.
They said his building is attracting undesirables and the neighbourhood isn’t safe.
Scharf Road resident Sheila Kennedy has been leading the charge on cleaning up the neighbourhood.
She lives right across the street from the fourplex and believes it’s the epicentre of the problem.
She said the building is supposed to house temporary farm workers, but that it has turned into a low-income rental building.
“This was constructed for farm workers, and I have the permits even stating that,” she said.
It was Collin Crabbe’s wife who was attacked by the naked fruit picker.
He said there have been safety concerns before the incident involving his wife.
“My wife has said numerous times — we have three small children — that she will not leave the property on foot because she’s scared to walk down our street,” he said.
The City of West Kelowna said it’s looking into the matter.
“I myself have just reviewed the bylaw, and that isn’t completely clear to me at this stage. It’s something that we will look into as part of the investigation,” West Kelowna employee Nancy Henderson said.
The building owner’s daughter, Harprat Gidda, admits there are people living in the building year-round other than farm workers, and insists it’s perfectly legal.
“We have legal papers, then why not?” Gidda said.
Meanwhile, Kennedy said she and her neighbours are running out of patience with the fourplex owner. She said if he doesn’t clean up his act, they’re going to picket his West Kelowna business.
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