Crown's attempt to enforce Vancouver snow removal bylaw dismissed on appeal

When a provincial court judge ruled that a Vancouver homeowner had not violated the city's snow removal bylaw – even though there was snow visible on the sidewalk in photos submitted as evidence – Crown prosecutors appealed to the B.C. Supreme Court. They lost.

When a provincial court judge ruled that a Vancouver homeowner had not violated the city's snow removal bylaw – even though there was snow visible on the sidewalk in photos submitted as evidence – Crown prosecutors appealed to the B.C. Supreme Court.

They lost.

In a decision issued last month but published online Friday, Justice Lauren Blake found the trial judge had not erred in her interpretation of the bylaw or the facts of the case.

At issue is the state of the sidewalk outside 1121 W. 16th Ave. on the morning of Jan. 9, 2022.

Homeowner Harold Gutovich did not attend either the initial provincial court trial or the appeal hearing, according to Blake's decision.

At the initial trial, the Crown presented four pieces of evidence: photographs taken by a building inspector on the day in question, a state of title certificate for the property, a tax attribute report for the property and an aerial view of the property.

Prosecutors asked the lower-court judge to convict Gutovich of violating the snow removal bylaw based on this evidence, but she declined to do so, finding that they had not proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the bylaw was breached.