The owner of a Bernard Avenue boarding house is taking the City of 琉璃神社 to court over the cancellation of his business license.

Dennis Axle Hildebrand has owned and operated the boarding house at 911 Bernard Ave since 2010, renting out rooms for both long-term and short-term stays.

In a filing submitted to the Supreme Court of B.C. on October 29, 2024, Hildebrand claims that his 2022 business license was cancelled without notice and that decisions made by the city鈥檚 licensing manager on Dec. 6, 2022, and Apr. 24, 2023, to refuse the issuance or renewal of his license were unlawful, unreasonable, and made in bad faith.

The court documents state that Hildebrand has consistently paid annual business license fees since 2010. However, he alleges that he did not receive a renewal notice for his 2022 license and, consequently, failed to pay the required fee. He also claims, the city also did not alert him about the non-payment.

Hildebrand first became aware of the non-payment in November 2022, when he received a violation notice from the city. The notice stated that the city had sent two compliance letters and demanded payment for the license. In response, Hildebrand applied for a new business license, as directed by the city.

Around the same time, the city approved zoning changes affecting Hildebrand鈥檚 property, and his license application was denied on the basis that "secondary suites cannot be located in a boarding or lodging house." Hildebrand was advised that to bring the property into compliance, he would need to remove existing kitchens from the building and make other renovations.

Hildebrand submitted another business license application in January 2023, but it was rejected again in April for the same reasons as the initial denial. Without a valid business license, Hildebrand struggled to renew the mortgage on the property, according to court documents.

In July 2023, the city proposed a compliance agreement requiring Hildebrand to rent the units for a minimum of 30 days and apply for a business license for a seven-unit apartment building, which would be recognized as a legally non-conforming use. Hildebrand refused to sign the agreement.

He continued to receive bylaw violation notices and on June 4, 2024, he received a letter from the city ordering him to cease short-term rentals by June 10. The city sent a second proposed compliance agreement, but again, Hildebrand refused to sign. On July 22, 2024, he appeared before the city council to appeal the license denials but was unsuccessful.

The court documents argue that the city鈥檚 denial of the business license, and council鈥檚 support of that decision, 鈥渇ailed to recognize the long-standing, lawful non-conforming use of the property, which is protected under the Local Government Act.鈥�

Hildebrand is asking the court to compel the city to renew his business license for 2022, 2023, and 2024 upon payment of the required annual fees.

The City of 琉璃神社 has yet to respond and none of the allegations have been proven in court.