The Gallagher’s Canyon Property Owners Association is suing the developer of the neighbourhood and golf course over allegations of under investment in a wastewater treatment plant.
The BC Supreme Court lawsuit filed Wednesday in Kelowna comes on the heels of a development proposal for an apartment building and townhomes on the Gallagher’s Canyon Pinnacle course.
The plaintiff owners association consists of 14 local strata corporations. Named defendants in the lawsuit lumped under the title of “developer” are CRC Canadian Retirement Corporation, Gallagher’s Canyon Land Development Ltd., GolfBC Holdings Inc. and Burrard International Development.
The lawsuit alleges the owners association entered agreements with the developer in 1994 and 1999 regarding the wastewater treatment plant that services the 644 homes in Gallagher’s Canyon.
The deal states the owners association is responsible for the operating costs and maintenance of the plant while the developer retains ownership and must cover needed upgrades to facilitate the addition of new homes to the development.
The lawsuit alleges the developer obtained a permit from the provincial government that set out three stages of processing capacity for the wastewater treatment plant, with upgrades to take place as the neighbourhood grew.
“The plant was originally constructed with capacity for only stage 1,” the lawsuit says. “The developer has not increased the capacity despite constructing stage 2 and stage 3, as well as subsequently obtaining approvals to further increase the size of the development.”
The civil claim alleges the lack of expansion of the wastewater plant means it strains to handle the high loading levels it receives in the summer months, and as a result, has forced the owners association to spend significantly to keep the plant running.
“Between approximately 2001 and 2022, the developer misrepresented the capacity of the plant to the [owners association],” the lawsuit alleges. “As a result of this misrepresentation, [the owners association] has suffered loss, damage and expense.”
“The developer is intending to construct the final 41 residential homes at the development. This will place additional loads on the plant, including odour control and ventilation systems.”
The owners association is demanding reimbursement for “significant costs” it has incurred on various wastewater projects that the lawsuit says were required to ensure the plant had sufficient capacity, which is the developer’s responsibility.
“The plaintiff has completed a portion of the capacity increase work to ensure that the plant has the necessary capacity to treat the effluent for the development,” the claim says. “This was done to prevent a potential catastrophic failure of the plant resulting from the increased capacity demands that came with the expansion of the development.”
The lawsuit is seeking damages of an undisclosed amount.
None of the allegations in the claim have been tested in court and the defendants have not filed a response, they have 21 days to do so.
