Developer takes city to court
Granite Ventures says council wrong in saying it lacks jurisdiction on overturning condo orders
John McFadden
Northern News Services
Friday, February 19, 2016
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Developer Granite Ventures Ltd. is taking the City of Yellowknife to court where it hopes a judge will force city council to revisit its decision not to overturn a no occupancy and fire watch order, which the company claims cost $160,000 to comply.
Granite Ventures is taking the City of Yellowknife to court, arguing the city's decision not to hear Granite's appeal was flawed and unfair. - NNSL file photo |
Granite Ventures' problems began after fire chief Darcy Hernblad issued a no occupancy order on the company's 5604 50 Ave condominium complex following a fire at a vacant building next door on Nov. 7.
The order was issued after Hernblad noted protective siding had not yet been installed and potentially flammable spray foam insulation was exposed to the elements. The fire, which destroyed the adjacent building, occurred just one day after a city building inspector granted the developer occupancy permits for nine units in the four-storey, 24-unit condominium.
People had begun moving in as early as Oct. 30, council was told at a special hearing Dec. 7. The no occupancy order was issued on Nov. 10.
The city subsequently replaced the no occupancy order with a fire watch order, which allowed residents to remain, but required the company to have someone at the building to be constantly on watch for fires.
Granite Ventures appealed both orders at the special hearing in December, hoping to be reimbursed for the $160,000, but council decided it didn't have the authority to overturn the orders because the city had already rescinded them by Dec. 4 after Granite Ventures installed the siding.
The company notified Yellowknifer on Monday that it had filed a notice of appeal with the NWT Supreme Court, stating city council was wrong to declare it lacked jurisdiction to hear the company's appeal.
"The city said that because the orders had been removed before the hearing they could no longer hear it and decide on the issue,"said Greg Littlefair, one of three partners in the company.
"It means there is no appeal process. There is no mechanism to say, 'Hey, I'm being treated unfair now. Administration can do anything they want and all they have to do is remove the orders the day before the hearing and then it's done. It affects anybody who wants to appeal or ask for help against administration."
The other two partners in the company are Alex Arychuk and city councillor Niels Konge, the latter of whom left the room at the start of the hearing in December, citing a conflict of interest.
During the hearing, city staff spoke about why they issued the orders while Granite and its lawyers argued the city was unfair in how it handled the case. City council oversaw the hearing by acting as a panel of judges.
Council rejected the company's request to be reimbursed for costs incurred dealing with the orders. Council's ruling states the bylaws have no provisions to deal with payouts on appeals.
Littlefair said the court action is not about money being sought. The company wants a judge to rule on the legality of council's decision and the validity of the process that led to it, he said.
The judge could possibly rule that council has made errors and the outcome is not acceptable and then they would have to go back and revisit the whole issue and redo their evaluation of it, Littlefair said. If the judge rules in Granite's favour it would reopen the process and the company could again pursue the money it says the city owes it, he added.
"The legislation and the bylaws provide for an appeal mechanism and they've removed that now," said Littlefair.
Yellowkifer reached out to the city for comment on the lawsuit but had not heard back as of press time. It is not clear when the case will be heard.
