District of West Vancouver council denied the appeal of a resident for unpermitted construction of parking area for commercial purposes on the public boulevard in Horseshoe Bay.
District staff was notified in February that unpermitted work was taking place on the eastern boulevard adjacent to 6518 Wellington Place along Nelson Avenue.
Following a site inspection, staff informed the property owners that the parking area was not permitted. The property owners retroactively submitted an encroachment permit application to obtain permission to retain the parking area.
The owner explained that they planned to utilize the parking area for equipment storage and employee parking for the owner’s business that operated out of Horseshoe Bay. On May 9, the encroachment permit was denied by the Director because the encroachment did not satisfy the conditions on which encroachments are permitted by the Boulevard Bylaw.
According to staff, the encroachment does not satisfy these criteria because it exceeds the allowable dimensions for a vehicle parking space, accommodates more than one vehicle space, permits parking perpendicular to the roadway (not parallel), and is inconsistent with the existing character of the boulevard and street as there are no other parking pads along the western side of this portion of Nelson Avenue
The owners appealed the decision, but it was rejected by council.
