Bylaw Enforcement
How to dispute a Bylaw Offence Notice
The District of Summerland participates in the Southern Interior Bylaw Notice Adjudication Program to address most minor bylaw violations. Those wishing to dispute a Bylaw Offence Notice must do so by completing the dispute/request for adjudication section on the back of the Notice and submitting it to the District of Summerland in person, by mail, fax or email within 14 days of issuance.
Disputes will be handled as follows:
- The person disputing their Bylaw Offence Notice (disputant) will be asked to complete a Bylaw Notice Dispute Form with the reasons for dispute. The Bylaw Notice Dispute Form will be utilized by the Screening Officer, in conjunction with evidence provided by Bylaw Enforcement, to review issuance of the Bylaw Offence Notice and uphold or revoke it as appropriate.
- If the Screening Officer upholds the Bylaw Offence Notice, the disputant can choose to pay it, or have it forwarded to an adjudicator. If the disputant chooses the adjudication process, they will be notified of what to do to present their case, and informed that they can do so in writing, by phone, or in person.
- A date, time and location for an adjudication will be provided to the disputant and the hearing will be conducted at Kelowna, Penticton or Vernon City Hall. Independent adjudicators will determine whether a bylaw infraction did or did not occur. If the adjudicator upholds the infraction, the full penalty will be applied as well as an adjudication fee of $25. If the adjudicator determines that no bylaw violation has occurred, no fine or adjudication fee will be applied.
How to dispute a Municipal Ticket Information
Those wishing to dispute a Municipal Ticket Information must do so by submitting notice of dispute to the District of Summerland in person, by mail, fax or email within 14 days of issuance.
Disputed municipal tickets are referred by the local government to the provincial court for hearing. Upon referral, the clerk of the court issues a notice of a hearing that sets the time and place for the hearing, and notifies both the local government and the disputant.
The penalties associated with a municipal ticket information do not place the alleged contravener in jeopardy of imprisonment, and the fine amounts are relatively small, therefore the presiding justice has some flexibility to hear a wider range of relevant, credible and trustworthy testimony as evidence and to adopt procedures that speed the fair conclusion of the hearing.
If a person has indicated that they wish to dispute the allegation and fails to attend the hearing, the justice must review the ticket and convict the person in their absence and impose the penalty if the ticket appears to be in order. A person convicted in their absence who was not at fault for missing the hearing, may apply to the court for a time extension under limited circumstances. This appearance may be in writing, based on an affidavit (Form C) submitted attesting to the reasons for failing to respond or appear.
Questions?
Contact Bylaw Services at 250-494-6451 ext. 4 or bylaw@summerland.ca