Fines levied against a Vernon family for living on a farm in a fifth wheel contradicting city bylaws have been rescinded by council.

Coun. Akbal Mund put forward a notice of motion at the regular meeting Monday, Nov. 27, calling for the city to rescind the nearly $2,800 fines accumulated by Lee and Sondra Watkins after council approved to allow secondary residents to live on property in the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) at the same meeting.

The motion was discussed Monday, Dec. 12, but it wasn鈥檛 without opposition.

Mayor Victor Cumming said rescinding the fines 鈥渄idn鈥檛 make any sense at all.鈥�

鈥淲e have bylaws in place. They (Watkins) knowingly did things that were not allowed and we asked bylaws to look into it,鈥� said Cumming. 鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 make sense to change the bylaw and make it retroactive. This sets up a whole cycle of chaos.鈥�

Mund said the Watkins were a 鈥渟pecial case,鈥� especially after the city tried to change its bylaw a year ago.

鈥淲e tried to change it in December 2022. Had it been changed, it would have come into effect in March 2023 and there would have been no fines levied,鈥� said Mund, who agreed with Cumming鈥檚 argument.

The motion passed by a margin of 4-2.

Coun. Brian Guy also voted in opposition. Coun. Kari Gares excused herself from the discussions.

The Watkins went public with their battle with the city to keep staying in their RV on a four-acre family property in the Blue Jay subdivision back in October.

The couple had been talking with the city to extend their stay in the RV as long as possible, but started receiving fines from bylaw over the last several months.

A petition to allow the Watkins to stay on the farm in the fifth wheel had garnered 5,463 signatures as of Dec. 10.