Cranbrook, British Columbia
· No. 4206
· adopted 2025-06-23
· summary & facts
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original document ·
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unofficial consolidation, the official version is held by the municipal clerk.
July 27, 2026
THE CORPORATION OF THE
CITY OF CRANBROOK
Unsightly Premises Bylaw No. 4206, 2025
(Adopted June 23, 2025)
This is a consolidation of the Unsightly Premises Bylaw No. 4206, 2025 and the adopted
Amendment Bylaws listed below. The amending bylaws have been combined with the original
Unsightly Premises Bylaw No. 4206, 2025 for convenience only. If discrepancies exist between this
consolidation and the original bylaws, the original bylaws shall prevail.
THIS CONSOLIDATION IS NOT A LEGAL DOCUMENT.
CONSOLIDATION FOR CONVENIENCE PURPOSES ONLY TO INCLUDE:
Bylaw No.
Adoption Date
Particulars
4251
July 27, 2026
- Add Part 2 - Graffiti
- Add Section 3.2(e)
4235
March 23, 2026
- Amend Part 2 - Discarded Materials
- Add Part 2 - Derelict Vehicle
- Add Section 3.2(c)
- Amend Section 4.3(c) and 4.3(d)
- Add Section 4.3(e)
- Amend Section 4.4
4206
UNSIGHTLY PREMISES BYLAW
A bylaw to prohibit unsightly premises and visual nuisances within the City of Cranbrook.
WHEREAS Council may, by bylaw, regulate, prohibit and impose requirements in relation
to the health, safety, or protection of persons or property, nuisances, disturbances, and other
objectionable situations, and protection of the natural environment as per Sections 8(3)(g),
8(3)(h), and 8(3)(j) of the Community Charter;
AND WHEREAS Council wishes to regulate, prohibit and impose requirements in relation
to property in the City;
AND WHEREAS officers, employees and agents are authorized to enter at all reasonable
times on any property to ascertain compliance with the City's bylaws as per Section 16 of
the Community Charter;
The Municipal Council of the Corporation of the City of Cranbrook, in open meeting
assembled, enacts as follows:
PART 1 - GENERAL ADMINISTRATION
1.1
THAT this bylaw may be cited as the "Unsightly Premises Bylaw No. 4206, 2025".
PART 2 - INTERPRETATION
2.1
In this bylaw the following words, terms, and phrases, have the following meaning
assigned to them:
"Bylaw Services Officer" means a person appointed to that position by the Chief
Administrative Officer of the City;
"Chief Administrative Officer" means the individual appointed to that position for
the City pursuant to section 147 of the Community Charter;
"City" means the Corporation of the City of Cranbrook;
"Council" means the Municipal Council of the City;
"Discarded Materials" means materials which are not being used for any active
construction of a building, in addition to, but not limited to appliances, inoperable
vehicles, vehicle parts, unoccupied tents or other temporary shelters, clothes, food,
unstacked firewood, scrap lumber, chattels in a dismantled and damaged condition,
or chattels not being used for a purpose for which manufactured.;
"Derelict Vehicle" means any vehicle as defined in the Motor Vehicle Act, RSBC
1996, c. 318 or part thereof, which:
a. is physically wrecked, disabled, or damaged; or
b. is not capable of operating under its own power; and
Bylaw 4235, 2026
Adopted Mar 23, 2026
Bylaw 4235, 2026
Adopted Mar 23, 2026
Unsightly Premises Bylaw No. 4206, 2025 -Page 2 of 5
c. does not have attached license plates for the current year; or
d. has not been insured or licensed as required under the Motor Vehicle Act, RSBC
1996, c. 318 for a minimum of 90 days within the previous 12-month period.
"Graffiti" means writing or pictures scratched, painted or drawn by any means on a
wall, fence, building, sign or structure of any kind, but does not include marks made
accidentally, or any of the following:
a) a sign authorized pursuant to the City's applicable bylaw provisions regulating
signs.
b) a public notice authorized by a City bylaw or by provincial or federal legislation.
c)
in the case of private property, a letter, symbol or mark authorized by the owner
or occupant of the property, such a mural.
"Noxious Weeds" has the same meaning prescribed in the Weed Control Act and
Weed Control Regulation;
"Property" means land, a building, a portion of a building, or a strata lot under the
Strata Property Act;
"Rubbish" means decaying or non-decaying solid and semi-solid wastes, including
but not limited to both combustible and non-combustible wastes, such as paper,
trash, refuse, cardboard, waste materials, cans, yard clippings, wood, glass,
bedding, mattresses, crates, rags, barrels, boxes, scrap iron, tin, and other metal,
scrap paving materials, discarded furniture, dry vegetation and trees and piles of
earth mixed with any of the above.
"Vegetation" means any combination of grass or weeds.
2.2
All words and phrases that are not defined in this bylaw must be construed in
accordance with the meanings assigned to them by the Community Charter, Local
Government Act and Interpretation Act as the context and circumstances require. A
reference to a statute or regulation in this bylaw refers to a statute or regulation of
the Province of British Columbia, and a reference to any enactment refers to that
enactment as it may be amended or replaced from time to time. Words in the singular
include the plural and gender specific terms include both genders and corporations.
Headings in this bylaw are for convenience only and do not define or limit the scope
or intent of this bylaw. A reference to a section number is a reference to a section
number in this bylaw unless otherwise indicated.
PART 3 - PROHIBITIONS
3.1
An owner or occupier of a Property must not cause, suffer, permit or allow the
Property to become or remain unsightly.
3.2
Without limiting the scope of Section 3.1, an owner or occupier of a Property must
not cause, suffer, permit or allow:
(a) garbage, rubbish or Discarded Materials to accumulate or remain outside on the
Property;
(b) Vegetation to be unkempt or to exceed 30 cm in height;
(c) more than one Derelict Vehicle to be parked, stored or kept on the Property so
that it is visible from the adjacent Property; or
Bylaw 4235, 2026
Adopted Mar 23, 2026
Bylaw 4235, 2026
Adopted Mar 23, 2026
Bylaw 4251, 2026
Adopted Jul 27, 2026
Unsightly Premises Bylaw No. 4206, 2025 -Page 3 of 5
(d) Noxious Weeds to grow or accumulate on the Property.
(e) Graffiti to be placed or to remain on the property, including any fence, tree, sign
or structure that is visible from a highway or public place.
PART 4 - REMEDIAL NOTICE
4.1
A Bylaw Services Officer may determine whether there is a contravention of this
bylaw in relation to a Property based on the Bylaw Services Officer's direct
observations of the Property.
4.2
If a Bylaw Services Officer determines under section 4.1 that there is a contravention
of this bylaw, the Bylaw Services Officer may issue to the owner or occupier of the
Property a written notice which orders the owner or occupier to cease the
contravention by carrying out the remedial requirements specified in the written
notice, and such notice must advise that reconsideration of the notice may be sought
by a written request to the Bylaw Services Officer setting out the reasons for the
reconsideration.
4.3
A written notice issued under Section 4.2 is deemed to be received by the owner or
occupier:
(a) immediately upon it being personally served on the owner or occupier;
(b) immediately upon acknowledgement via email from the owner or occupier of
receipt of the written notice via email;
(c) in relation to an owner located within the Province of BC, 7 days after being
mailed by regular mail to the address of the owner as indicated in the land title
search of the Property subject to the written notice;
(d) in relation to an owner located outside of the Province of BC, 10 days after being
mailed by regular mail to the address of the owner as indicated in the land title
search of the Property subject to the written notice; or
(e) in relation to an occupier, 7 days after being posted in a visible location on the
Property subject to the written notice
4.4
If a request for consideration is made within 7 days of receipt of the written notice
under Section 4.3 the Bylaw Services Officer may cancel the notice, and for
certainty, the cancellation of a notice does not preclude the subsequent issuance of
a similar notice.
4.5
Unless the written notice is cancelled under Section 4.4, within 21 days of receipt of
the written notice under Section 4.3, the owner or occupier must complete the
remedial requirements described in the written notice.
4.6
If an owner or occupier fails to comply with Section 4.5, the City or its agents may,
at the expense of the owner or occupier, enter onto the Property and complete the
remedial requirements described in the written notice.
4.7
The owner or occupier must pay to the City the City's costs of completing the
remedial requirements under Section 4.6, and such costs are a debt due and
payable to the City recoverable in any court of competent jurisdiction.
Bylaw 4235, 2026
Adopted Mar 23, 2026
Bylaw 4235, 2026
Adopted Mar 23, 2026
Bylaw 4235, 2026
Adopted Mar 23, 2026
Bylaw 4235, 2026
Adopted Mar 23, 2026
Bylaw 4251, 2026
Adopted Jul 27, 2026
Unsightly Premises Bylaw No. 4206, 2025 -Page 4 of 5
4.8
If costs under Section 4.7 are not paid by December 31 of the calendar year in which
the costs were incurred, the costs may be collected as Property taxes on the
Property subject to the written notice in accordance with Sections 258 and 259 of
the Community Charter.
PART 5 - ENFORCEMENT AND PENALTIES
5.1
This bylaw may be enforced by a Bylaw Services Officer or by a member of the
RCMP.
5.2
Subject to Section 16 of the Community Charter, a Bylaw Services Officer may enter
on any Property for the purpose of determining whether all the regulations,
prohibitions and requirements are being met in relation to this bylaw.
5.3
Every person must not obstruct a Bylaw Services Officer engaged in the
enforcement of this bylaw.
5.4
Any person who:
(a) violates or fails to comply with any provision of this bylaw;
(b) causes, permits, suffers or allows any action or thing to be done in violation of
this bylaw; or
(c) fails or neglects to do anything required to be done under this bylaw,
contravenes this bylaw, and where the contravention is a continuing one, each day
that the contravention continues amounts to a separation contravention.
5.5
Any person who contravenes this bylaw commits an offence and upon conviction by
way of a proceeding under the Offence Act is liable to a penalty not less than five
hundred dollars ($500) and not exceeding fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) for each
offence and the costs of prosecution.
5.6
This bylaw may be enforced by the issuance of a bylaw notice under the Bylaw
Notice Enforcement Bylaw No. 4049, 2021, as amended or replaced, or by the
issuance of a municipal ticket information under the Municipal Ticket Information
Bylaw No. 3856, 2016, as amended or replaced.
PART 6 - SEVERABILITY
6.1
If any part, section, subsection, paragraph or clause of this bylaw is held to be invalid
by a court of competent jurisdiction, then that invalid portion shall be severed and
the remainder of this bylaw shall be deemed to continue as valid and enforceable.
Unsightly Premises Bylaw No. 4206, 2025 -Page 5 of 5
PART 7 - REPEAL
7.1
"Unsightly Premises Bylaw No. 3390, 2000" and all amendments are hereby
repealed.
Read a first time this 9th day of June 2025.
Read a second time this 9th day of June 2025.
Read a third time this 9th day of June 2025.
Adopted this 23rd day of June 2025.
W. PRICE
Mayor
M. DUECK
City Clerk