Condo owners' quest still in court
Local condo owners looking to stop the construction of apartment buildings began presenting their case in Yukon Supreme Court on Friday.
Local condo owners looking to stop the construction of apartment buildings began presenting their case in Yukon Supreme Court on Friday.
Whitehorse Condominium Corp. 95, the owner of 89 homes in the Falcon Ridge area, is applying for an injunction to stop the construction of an apartment block.
The condo board's lawyer, Jim Tucker, argued the developer, a numbered Yukon company, had no right to build the apartments without the consent of the condo owners.
Tucker insisted the board just recently realized it had the authority and the legal duty to object to the construction, if the rules were not being followed.
"They are average people who all of a sudden find themselves in this situation,” he said.
Since the board was created by the developer in 2005, there have been six different occasions where the developer has made changes to plans or declarations without the required consent of the owners, Tucker claims.
The homeowners are not necessarily against the construction, Tucker told Justice Ron Veale.
They simply want an order requiring the necessary consents before construction continues.
Construction of the apartment buildings is well underway and it's unclear at this point what would happen if Justice Ron Veale rules in the board's favour.
If all of the owners do not consent, there is still the option for the developer to take them back to court, Tucker said.
Meanwhile, the developer's lawyer, Gary Whittle, insists the board was well aware of the construction plans.
He is currently in court asking Veale to either amend the bylaws or terminate the board completely.
Whittle spent most of this morning making his arguments.
The case is expected to wrap up this afternoon.
Comments (5)
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flyingfur on Dec 20, 2012 at 5:57 am
Joel: if their home overlooks this ugly building it sure will.
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Joel on Dec 20, 2012 at 3:53 am
" It will inevitably lower the value of our home"
Wow...really? High priced apartments are going to reduce the value of your home?
Congestion on Falcon drive? It is an arterial road. If there was worry about that, all the other streets off of it should not have housing allowed on them either. Parking is being based inside Falcon Ridge as part of the development from what I have seen and heard so far. People turning into Falcon Ridge have the same rights as turning onto every other street.
I believe they are height limited as part of the community plan just the same as every other building.
There...all your problems are alleviated.
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Sandi Swaffield on Dec 18, 2012 at 10:32 am
Although we do not live in the Falcon Ridge Condos, we do live across the street on Falcon Drive. Having these apartment buildings constructed has posed difficulties for us as well. It will inevitabily lower the value of our home. It is surprising to us that the city would allow construction of two large apartment buildings in a residential area. Also of concern is the potential problem of traffic congestion on Falcon Drive, especially on the bend where traffic enters and leaves the Falcon Ridge development. This could cause residents to park on Falcon Drive which limits driver's visability when entering this busy road. We ask Judge Veale to consider all these factors. However, if construction cannot be stopped on these apartments, limiting them to three stories would help alleviate some of the above problems. Thank you for allowing my comments.
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flyingfur on Dec 18, 2012 at 2:21 am
Several of the condos in this little community have not been sold yet and remain empty. Not sure how many they have as part of the apartment block. Perhaps the developer should consider this instead of being so confrontational and side-stepping the rules because nobody in their right mind will buy one of these available units knowing what kind of mess they are getting themselves into. A shame that judge Veale did not put a cease/desist order on construction until he makes a decision...they were hammering away out there this morning as of 7am again.
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flyingfur on Dec 17, 2012 at 9:06 am
I think at a minimum the judge should order that the construction be put on hold until there is a decision and perhaps a vote as it states in the rules. It seems that they are working extra hard right now to get as far along as possible so that this might sway the decision; they are working 7 days a week and are well into the 2nd story. This work was started prior to many of the homes being completed; no landscaping was done last year, no driveways or other pavement...the place is a mud bog and an absolute mess. People who live adjacent to the development must be furious too.