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RDEK in court over alleged bylaw contravention

Local property owner argues that his RV storage business does not violate bylaw, RDEK disagrees.

A local man got his day in court, which brought six years of wrangling with the Regional District of East Kootenay to a head over the storage of RV's and RV trailers on a rural property outside of Cranbrook.

The RDEK is taking Clayton Augustine to court over the storage of RVs on his 13-acre property south of Cranbrook, which the regional government claims is in contravention of a bylaw that doesn't allow that type of land use based on the zoning of his property.

Both sides agree that the issue is whether the RV storage is in contravention of the bylaw, and presented their arguments in BC Supreme Court in front of Justice Jennifer Duncan on Friday.

The plaintiff, the RDEK, argue that the business goes against the bylaw, while the Augustines argue that they were a grandfathered exception when an amended new definition of land use was approved in 2007.

The Augustines also argued they haven't received any clarity from RDEK officials on the issue and were given contradictory advice since they first received letters from the organization in November 2010.

The judge will likely make her decision on the matter within three to six months.