A Richmond trucking company was fined $100,000 and ordered by a provincial judge to cease operations and remove all its trucks and trailers as well as fill from its farm property.
Rideway Transport on No. 6 Road was issued dozens of tickets for non-compliance for operating a trucking company on the property that is located in the Agricultural Land Reserve.
When they didn’t pay the fines, the City of Richmond took them to court.
The company as well as its directors and two other transportation companies were named in the lawsuit.
Manjit Sandhu, on behalf of the companies and directors, pleaded guilty to three counts: breaching the city’s soil deposit bylaw, breaching the city’s business bylaw and breaching the city’s zoning bylaw.
According to court documents, fill was placed on the property in June 2022. A stop work order was posted on June 9, 2022, but more fill was brought to the property.
Sandhu wrote to the city that the fill was meant for a nursery business, but that business never came to fruition, according to the decision from Justice L. Mayner.
Between June and September 2022, the city issued 45 bylaw violation notices. These were never challenged and they were never paid.
In February 2023, the city’s soil bylaw officer, Mike Morin, went to the property to find the fill hadn’t been removed. Furthermore, there were six semi-tractors and 59 flat-deck trailers on the property.
More fill was added to the property between April 29 and Aug. 3, 2023. While Sandhu denied this, Mayner said “he could not deny aerial shots from Nearmap, which showed additional fill…”
In January 2023, Sandhu applied for a non-farm use permit for the property, but this was turned down by city council in November.
According to the judgment, about 60 to 80 per cent of the property is covered by fill so that the commercial vehicles and equipment can be parked there.
Mayner noted Sandhu pleaded guilty and there was no admission the property was bought for the purpose of storing trucks, rather “A nursery business was the only reason given for the property.”
However, Mayner said the case “has caused considerable time and expense to the City of Richmond and the citizens of the community.”
Sandhu argued the local government created the problem “by not allowing him to park his trucks on his property by rezoning his property.”
The $100,000 in fines include $15,000 for Manjit Sandhu, $15,000 for Jaswinder Sandhu, $30,000 for their numbered company, $20,000 for Rideway Transport, $10,000 for Mainfreight Express and $10,000 for Aikam Motor Freight.
The fines need to be paid by Sept. 30.
The trucks and trailers were ordered to be removed and the business was ordered to cease operations by April 30; the fill was ordered to be removed by June 30.
According to the City of Richmond, they continue to issue fines to the property for non-compliance.
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