Ballard Fine Homes, a business with its head office in Parksville, has been ordered to pay $6,000 in fines due to three forged occupancy permits.
Owner Don Ballard entered a consent plea on behalf of his company, but maintains he was not aware permits were being forged by an independent contractor.
The non-criminal offences involve forged occupancy permits for three homes in the Regional District of Nanaimo (RDN) in 2022. The charges are contraventions of a bylaw, according to Josh Bloomenthal, Ballard’s lawyer.
Ballard Fine Homes contracted project management services to an independent contractor, according to Bloomenthal.
“Mr. Ballard has had absolutely no advance notice, knowledge or participation whatsoever in the creating of these occupancy permits,” Bloomenthal said, adding Ballard immediately confronted the contractor with the allegations.
The RDN first alleged Ballard Fine Homes had issued the fake permits in June 2022.
“The law provides that by allowing people to occupy homes without an occupancy permit having been issued, whether or not there is an actual safety risk, there’s at least a theoretical risk which is enough to take these things very seriously,” said Sandeep Uppal, the RDN’s lawyer.
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Uppal added that Ballard Fine Homes was not convicted for actually forging permits, but, “was convicted for allowing homeowners to occupy homes, or causing homeowners to occupy homes without occupancy permits and that was based on (contractor) Darren Gaudreault having issued, provided forged documents to homeowners and then those homeowners relying on those occupancy permits to occupy their homes.”
Ballard says once he was notified of the faked permits, he immediately terminated his contractual relationship with the contractor and set out to rectify the situation.
Two of the permits discovered to be fraudulent were for Ballard’s personal properties.
“I’m a victim of the fraud just as much as the RDN,” Ballard said, adding he accepted the responsibility he had to for the situation involving the contractor who was “not a direct employee.”
He added since the news broke regarding the court decision on Feb. 20, both Ballard Fine Homes and his real estate company, Macdonald Realty, have seen their business affected.
Ballard says he now personally handles permit applications.
Gaudreault’s own trial on related matters is scheduled for March 11, March 12 and March 13. He did not immediately reply to an interview request by the PQB News.