Westside Development Under Siege.

[Triple 6]

Anyone who posts anything potentially libelous will be receive a time-out.

[johnhenry]

Is this a continuation of the original Copper Sky thread?

[Triple 6]

Is this a continuation of the original Copper Sky thread?

Oops. Yes. Sort of. I've merged the original and have removed the slanderous comments.

[bigtdawg]

I am sorry. This developer should be praised and admired, for he has surely represented the type of reasoning and honourable conduct which not enough people of his profession show after constructing such a quality piece of architecture.

[rekabis]

I am sorry. This developer should be praised and admired, for he has surely represented the type of reasoning and honourable conduct which not enough people of his profession show after constructing such a quality piece of architecture.

Indeed. And such innovative construction, too -- just look at his dedication to making the project so environmentally responsible. By the time the building is due to be replaced it will have been naturally reduced to a pile of rubble, making it eminently convenient to be scooped up and carted away in dustpans.

[dodgerdodge]

I heard from someone that the guy who was responsible for the retaining wall was now in California somewhere and couldn't be contacted so not much chance of him sorting it out. This could of course be rumour but it seemed to come from a genuine source.

The plan apparently was to finish selling off the remaining units at cost which there was only a few left and then they would start on the next phase and those units would be back to full price. Some hope i think.

[OnTheRoadAgain]

What I don't understand is how the condo owners could end up paying the bill. Is there some clause in the agreement that says "if it turns out we screwed up and this place is garbage YOU are on the hook to fix it"? I'm scratching my head here. I know everyone involved seems to be passing the buck but come on... Someone should be held responsible for repairs and IMO it shouldn't be the people that bought units.

Trust me, have your legal rep read the lease very carefully before you sign.
It should not be the people who bought the units.
It should be the people responsible for screwing up.
But that is not the way it works on native land. Even in our courts of law.
You can take a disagreement on Native land through the Supreme Court Justice Review, but the judge can only make recommendations and send it back to Native law for their decision, which will always side with the WFN

[kumazatheef]

no respect or consideration for the homeowners that live in the sourrounding area

Why should there be?
I mean, it's good to be nice, but "pretty" is not part of the Building Code.

[OnTheRoadAgain]

The development at Copper Sky is advertised as 'easy living'; residents have found it is anything but easy. They have to put up with closed roads, crumbling pavement and a cracked pool deck.

Typical.

One homeowner told Castanet that the development is falling apart. "I don't particularly want to live here anymore," he says.

Another woman, who is just renting at Copper Sky, explained many owners of units told her they were upset with the crumbling walls.

"It seems to be taking them a while to fix everything, and you know, it doesn't look like they've done a good job of building it."

This is the way WFN works (or not).

Back in 2010 Remple Copper Sky went into receivership and eventually the condos were turned over to KPMG. Vice President Cecil Cheveladave, refused to comment on the construction, stating KPMG never comments to the media during receivership.

The value priced homes were sold until spring of this year. That's when the cracking pool deck and retaining wall were discovered.

Such a deal !

Castanet made several calls to get answers about what was happening at the development. No one would answer our questions and everyone told us to talk to KPMG, who were also, not answering questions.

If they are honest, you would not like their answers anyways.

We decided we needed to dig deeper and we went undercover with a hidden camera. Our team acted like they wanted to buy a condo, and even though no one would talk to us about the problems at Copper Sky, they were happy to take us around as perspective buyers.

Of course they are. They are their best interest, not you. the buyer.

On the day we went shopping the realtor told a group of 'buyers' they will start to sell the units again once an assessment on the pool deck and the retaining wall is complete.

No doubt. They need to sell to see profit. And they don't need to sell a lease that already exists, they need to sell the units with no leases. In some circumstances, they will intercept a sale by denying the 'tenant' and lead them to buy a new unit for a better deal. On the sly, of course.

"We are just waiting to hear exactly what the issue is, because it's called material latent defect, it is something that is not discernable to the naked eye. If we sell you the unit and then you find out there is a five thousand or ten thousand dollar assessment you're not going to be happy."

Good plan. It is likely a complex issue involving more than one concern.

If it turns out there is a fault in the wall, apparently, Copper Sky can seek litigation against the structural engineers, the geo-technical engineers and even West Bank First Nation as they all signed off on the development.

Good luck with that one. WFN runs their own courts of law, outside BC supreme court.

The WFN says it won't be their responsibility because the developer signed a 99 year lease. They also referred all calls to KPMG.

Of course they do! This is most certainly not a first. History repeats itself.

Someone will have to pay for the repairs and if Copper Sky can't get the money through litigation and the contingency reserve for the development won't cover the cost, homeowners will be stuck with the bill.

I would bet my house that the owners will be stuck with the bill. History repeats itself. People don't fully understand that our courts do not apply to WFN. They have their own. I don't know of a case where they ruled in favour of the lessees. Anybody?

The realtor gave an example that if there are 200 units in the development and if it were to cost one million dollars to repair the wall, it would cost each home owner $5000.

The realtors are really no better than WFN because they are a) ignorant of all this WFN governmental control or b) pretend to be ignorant of all this WFN governmental control.

"We are just waiting on the results of the testing, maybe that wall doesn't need to be replaced maybe there is no problem with it, but we are just waiting to hear on all of it," she says.

The wall is a huge liability. I walked the top of most of it the other day. I've seen it close up. It's not good and it's not safe. However, CMHC has no jurisdiction on native land either along with provincial law.

As for those who thought they got a great deal on the Westside, they are now holding property they can't sell.

Not such a good deal at all, unfortunately they didn't research and realize this prior to purchasing a lease.
Never ever ever get involved with WFN Land lease with a development company. Trust me on that.

One unit owner told Castanet he could try to sell, but it wouldn't be worth it.

Key word: Try. The more public the whole thing becomes, the less likely one would be able to muster up any interest in looking, nevermind sell.
Never ever ever ever become involved in a sale with WFN ownership with a developer middle man and previous lease holder.
Always always always sequester legal advice - before even looking.

Anyone ever call the local realtors and pick their brains about these developments on Native land? I have.
They were either ignorant, or liars.

[OnTheRoadAgain]

no respect or consideration for the homeowners that live in the sourrounding area

Why should there be?
I mean, it's good to be nice, but "pretty" is not part of the Building Code.

What building code? There's a building code on WFN land? Who oversees this?

[kumazatheef]

What building code? There's a building code on WFN land? Who oversees this?

My bad, that was just legislation they're introducing it hasn't gone through yet ... Silly me thinking a bill would get through in any reasonable amount of time.

[OnTheRoadAgain]

Hopefully, sharing personal experiences here is not considered slander or libel.

[kay-c]

Wfn has its own court? Why do the have a building inspector if theres no code? You would think the engineers and the architects would have some sort of quality control and testing. I dont know why they dont just fix the wall and the cracks in the sidewalk and get on with life. The bank is waiting around while everybody plays the blame game , its not fair to the tenants.

[OnTheRoadAgain]

WFN has their own government.
They don't fix the wall because it's not their responsibility. Goes with the lease.
The developer won't want to fix it, because they've sold the lease to the purchaser of the lease.
It would also cost money.

[kay-c]

Yup they have their own government, yup they won't fix a private wall, yup the bank took it away . And yes it would cost money. So instead of these banks that brag how much theyve taken in year after, just go ahead and fix it. The receiver built the pool. They had no pool when it went under. Fix the pool. It wasn't WFN with their secret court room or built by lawless children . The developer planned on being there for several years to fill up a place like that. It's all a blame game, and the tenants are the ones treated poorly. What happens when the snow flies? Is everybody going to have to suffer? There's no reason they couldn't fix the entrance. They are just going to make them feel happy to spend 5 grand each to return to life as normal. The whole thing stinks.