Bylaw infractions lead to huge fine for Kelowna man

KELOWNA – A Kelowna man who pleaded guilty to 17 of 35 bylaw charges has been fined more than $16,000.

“I guess they made an example of me. Don’t take anyone off the street and give them a home,” says Lyall Grexton.

Grexon was renting out travel trailers and small huts at the back of his three acre property on Parsons Road even though he knew it was against zoning and other regulations.

“I thought a lot of other people are doing it, can’t be that bad.”

Most of the offenses involved not having occupancy permits for the rental units. But Grexton was also convicted for having unsightly premises and an unapproved sewage system.

“We had property offenses that involved individuals living in conditions that were unsafe and so it was our due diligence to address those matters and bring them to the court to properly address,” says City of Kelowna Bylaw Services Manager Greg Wise.

Grexton’s illegal tenants have now moved away.

“Basically I gave them the places they were living in, the trailers. They dragged them here and there, to trailer parks, and they’re still there. Except of course the ones that went back to the street and they’re still on the street,” says Grexton.

However he still has some old vehicles to get rid of. Wise says the city has obtained a court order to ensure that happens.