Photo: City of Kelowna
Janusz Grelecki makes one last attempt to save his home.
Grelecki is suing the City of Kelowna after being ordered to demolish his home and redevelop the property at 424 Gibson Road.
The city made the decision after trying for more than a decade to get Grelecki to clean up his property and completely renovate his house.
He applies to the courts for an injunction prohibiting the city from entering his property, the cessation of all enforcement activities, a suspension of the enforcement of the remedy, general, special and criminal damages and court costs.
Grelecki’s lawsuit was filed with the Vernon Supreme Court last week.
In the nine-page lawsuit, Grelecki alleges that the city council’s redevelopment order is based on a personnel report that includes a four-year-old engineering report.
“The report contains inaccuracies, exaggerations and misleading statements,” says Grelecki in his claim.
“At the municipal council hearing on August 23, 2021, the staff and the council continued to criticize the personnel report and the report by the elementary construction engineers, which confirmed that the overall structure of the home is intact and the renovation of the accommodation was significantly less drastic than the recommendation of the staff.
“In particular, the house did not have to be removed and demolished, repairs to the house to ensure safety were not extensive, the deck could be repaired and completed, and the retaining walls had not been moved in 10 years and there was no evidence of an immediate Security risk to life. “
Elemental Structural Engineers inspected the property on behalf of Grelecki the week before the council hearing.
Grelecki claims the city is maliciously involved in a “draconian solution” without considering the correct approach recommended by Elemental Structural Engineers, while relying on visual observations made by two engineers in 2017.
The file alleges that Grelecki suffered persistent stress, anxiety and depression as a result of the city’s decision, and further alleges that he does not have the finances to comply with the city-imposed “arbitrary and capricious” resolution.
The allegations made in the lawsuit have not yet been examined in court.
