No waterfront plans for Maple Ridge

It seems many, many years since we presented the notion of Port Kanaka to the District of Maple Ridge. A bold plan no doubt.

At the time we researched other developers, planners and architects who had similar thoughts for their communities. We took a look at the Sawyer's Landing proposal in PItt Meadows; and we took a look at what was planned for the waterfront at Fort Langley.

It is now 2009, a few years later. Sawyer's Land is all but complete. The incredible waterfront development in Fort Langley is coming to an end. Maple Ridge? Sweet bugger all.

Fear of success continues to hold Maple Ridge in a vice-like stranglehold.

Another day in Court.....Northumberland Court that is

The following is courtesy of Maple Ridge Concerned Citizens.

Radio Haney

Another sunny day in Maple Ridge means another day in provincial court dealing with the ongoing saga that is Northumberland Court. As opposed to last Friday which was an internal Northumberland court case, this court case was Northumberland Court vs the city of Maple Ridge.

To be more precise this was essential Mike Kwasnica and Steve Creighton vs Maple Ridge, because they appear to be the only ones trying to save the burnt out building (11731 Fraser st). Now it is quite confusing why two people who do not even own the suites would fight so hard for their survival and it seems the answer has come out during the court case today.

As it stands Kwasnica and Creighton are arguing that the building cannot be demolished because of the following reasons:

The insurance issue, ongoing since 2006 is still not settled and demolishing the building would create a situation that would end the insurance issue. It was asked why no one has photographed or document the shape of the building for the insurance settlement and surprise, no one had an answer for this.

Demolishing the burnt out building would also end another court application that the administrator of Northumberland has against Northumberland. Put another way, a case that Kwasnica and Creighton have against Athwal over repairing or not repairing the burnt out building would not go forward because there would be no more building. This became clearer when it came out during the proceedings that there is a foreclosure order that is going to be heard, presumably on July 29th over the four burnt out units that comprise 11731. The important thing here is what the units are currently valued at before they go into foreclosure and according to what was heard in court today those units are currently valued at $1000.00 a piece. So, hypothetically say someone with an interest in Northumberland Court such as Mike Kwasnica who already owns two suites, or Steve Creighton who is in defacto charge of Northumberland Court were to succeed in getting the suites into foreclosure it would only be one other step to then purchase these same units. It may sound far fetched, but Mike Kwasnica has openly stated he is interested in the units and feels they are completely capable of being rehabilitated. The province has shown they will fund units at Northumberland regardless of the condition they are in (no heat, mold, sewage water in crawl spaces – see the reports by the city) so really at a $1000.00 a pop they will be paid off in two and half months and it is back to business as usual for Kwasnica, Creighton and Athwal.

Even if the units are not rehabilitated the land they sit on is quite valuable and after allowing them to be run into the ground and dragging our entire community with it those three still stand to profit.

Notice none of the reasons above at all tie into the communities need for safety nor the tenants or other owners needs for housing. This is said because one thing that came out loud and clear during this court appearance is that there is no interest in the housing aspect, social or otherwise, at Northumberland. This is all about who gets final control over a large piece of downtown property that is already zoned for a multiple home development. No matter that this development may be a decade away, all of us are expected to sit back and have our rights trampled so Kwasnica Creighton and Athwal can carry on there fight and make as much money off the suffering of our community as possible.

There is quite a bit to add regarding today in court and unfortunately the most important bit of information is missing because no one from mrccc was able to be in court at 3 pm when the verdict was read.

If Kwasnica and Creighton are successful there will be a summary trial some time in September to decide if the city is right to impose the demolition order. If the city is successful there will be a large back hoe rolling into Northumberland Court sometime in the next ten days. Everyone is encourage to contact the city to enquire what the outcome of today's case was. It is your right as a citizen of Maple Ridge to find out the result of a court case (S-093620) that directly affects everyone in this city.

Ideally more about the court case in an upcoming update, many interesting things were said. A couple of quick favourites from today's case. According to the lawyer for Kwasnica and Creighton 11731 should not be torn down because there has been only one incident at the burnt out building since Creighton came on as administrator, as well, sit down for this one, 11731 is in no worse shape, and looks no worse, then the other buildings at Northumberland Court.

It is safe to say that a number of people will be looking forward to hearing the rumble of metal treads in the between Fraser and 224th st sometime this month.

Latest Jack in the Beanstalk Talk

In what was a very brief meeting before a judge Tuesday morning, Steven Creighton the administrator originally appointed in 2007 to bring order to the way that Northumberland Court was run has had his appointment extended until July 29th 2009.

This can be read two ways. The first is rather straight forward in that the tenure of the court appointed administrator which was supposed to end June 30th, has now been extended another thirty days so all of us living in and around Northumberland Court get thirty more days of Creighton's rule as opposed to Athwal's rule. Going by how Northumberland has been run in the last five years its hard to tell the difference from one to the other so not much will change on that front.

The other way this situation can be read is that the remedial actions imposed by the city regarding the condition of the suites and Northumberland Court will be fought by Creighton instead of being fought by Athwal, and this matters to a certain degree.

Having Creighton around puts Athwal in a better position in the long run as he now has someone else fighting his battle to avoid doing the remedial repairs. This leaves Athwal in a good position to not do the repairs, and if it is true he has a building permit before the city he can play that it is the administrator that is pushing this battle not himself, and as has been his line for so many years, he's an upstanding business man who is not treated fairly by his tenants or the city.

An extension of the appointment of Creighton also creates an extension on the time he has to get in front of a different judge and get an injunction against the city against performing their demolition order on building 11731. The biggest point here, and an apology for the repeat from the last update, is that this morning there was one court appearance. On July 29th there will be another court appearance for the same issue. The injunction about the building demo will yield at least two court appearances and possible more, so where is the money coming from?

Going to court is not cheap and neither is rehabilitating 16 units of one complex, particularly when some of those units have structural damage, as well problems with asbestos that will require the use of a hazardous materials team to clean it up. This whole mess just keeps getting more and more expensive and speaks to the notion that different levels of government could have, and should have stepped in long before things got to the sorry state they are in.

On that note it is clear that the BC government is still funding Athwal to run his slum housing. Why our tax dollars are going into the pocket of an individual who has admitted on television that this at this complex he is a slumlord one can only wonder. Perhaps instead of wondering though, anyone with the time should take the opportunity to contact our two Maple Ridge MLA's.

Two questions to ask would be:

'Why is the provincial government not respect municipal bylaws and decisions by continually funding Athwal?'

'What mechanism is the provincial government using to track the money they are putting out the door for housing, and what fail safes to they have in place to ensure that money for an individual to use for housing is in fact being used for housing at the location designated, and by the individual designated?'

Micheal Sather can be reached at

E-mail: michael.sather.mla@leg.bc.ca

Office:Room 201
Parliament Buildings
Victoria, BC
V8V 1X4

Second thoughts on the future of Maple Ridge

Most, if not all, communities describe themselves as 'unique'. There is something in each of us that makes us feel we are not quite like the guy or gal next door. And as it is with individuals it expands to small rural communities, small towns, midsized towns, cities, provinces ('Beautiful' apparently, British Columbia), countries, continents and, who knows, one day even solar systems.

Back to earth; specifically the few acres in the Fraser Valley known as Maple Ridge. What is it that makes this town unique? Ah yes, we don't have any BIG boxes where we can shop. Now and then I am tempted to think 'so what' let Wallmart have its way with Maple Ridge. So long, of course, at it alights on the Haney Place Mall site and not in the Albion. The Albion, where, it is loudly heralded, the District is about to launch another of its self-serving studies.

To the East of Maple Ridge and to the West of Maple Ridge we have enough big box banality to serve ten communities our size. And now we have a bridge which opens up every one of the biggest boxes on the planet to the retail hungry among us. And to those who cry out for shopping on the Albion they now have two choices; move to Surrey or Langley, or just drive 20 minutes to either Mission, Pitt Meadows, Coquitlam or South. Even the US border is closer now so all those great factory outlets are there to serve you.

Long known as a dormitory community, one once took this description as an insult. Now, it seems, we ought perhaps to reflect on the fact that we are a dormitory and not a clone of all the other communities in the Fraser Valley.

Maple Ridge has long been overlooked as nothing but a distant and poor cousin to all our neighbours in the West and South. Today, we can be thankful for being ignored and not dragged, as it were, into the maelstrom of malls and mediocrity that sits on three of our flanks.

We can tell the world that if it likes rivers, lakes, mountains, sports (we could do with a lot more golf courses and soccer fields and stadia) then come to Maple Ridge. If the worlds wants to see more garage bands, art and artists per capita than almost anywhere else, then come to Maple Ridge.

On the other hand, if the visitor is seeking fine architecture and shops, then they should be redirected almost anywhere but Maple Ridge. We leave good design, construction and forward looking planning to other communities, but one cannot expect everything to be perfect.

To maintain our unique character we have to resist sprawl, now more than ever.

To maintain our unique character we have to (somehow) revitalize the downtown and - for those who insist on shopping - base all our retail activity in the centre of town.

To maintain our unique character we have to get the homeless off the streets, and the dial-a-drug ops, the prostitutes and those awful hooded cyclists who run amok in our neighbourhoods, out of town. We are not prudes - well OK some of us are - so we can have as much fun as the next community - visit our summer jazz festival or any other of our many public events in Memorial Park.

The kinds of uniqueness we need to rid ourselves of include houses with piles of junk cars littering the driveways, buildings like Northumberland Court, and property owners like Jack A. The district is working on all of this, but in typical incremental stages that can drive a voter batty.

And to maintain our uniqueness we need to resist strongly the notion that our land is not suitable for agriculture - that propostion is an outright lie perpetuated not only by the developers and realtors, but by the council, staff and approving officers who persist in supporting applications for the removal of good farm land in favour of more single-residential housing. This is a very lazy way of increasing the District's purse - nothing unique in that.

Yesterday I drove south across the bridge into Langley and Surrey. My immediate instinct was a desire head back north to the relative quietude of our little village. There is nothing in Langley or Surrey for me.

So I took the Albion Ferry north. Most likely for the last time. I reflected on the days when the ferry was my only choice and wondered, perhaps, whether I now - on this day - had one choice too many. And the right choice was soon to be taken away forever.

Does Northumberland Court warrant invoking eminent domain

It is not unheard of for local government, in severe cases, to invoke eminent domain. Could the case of Northumberland take the District of Maple Ridge in this direction? There is a strong case for replacing the current owners with a government agency who could tear down the building and replace it with community housing for those families truly in need.

If this approach were used BC-wide it would fit well into the Province's need to care for the any homeless we have somehow managed to create.

Radio Haney

The term "condemnation" is used to describe the formal act of the exercise of the power of eminent domain to transfer title to the property from its private owner to the government. This use of the word should not be confused with its sense of a declaration that real property, generally a building, has become so dilapidated as to be legally unfit for human habitation due to its physical defects. This type of condemnation of buildings (on grounds of health and safety hazards or gross zoning violation) usually does not deprive the owners of the title to the property condemned but requires them to rectify the offending situation or have the government do it for the owner at the latter's expense.

Condemnation via eminent domain indicates the government is taking ownership of the property or a lesser interest in it, such as an easement. In most cases the only thing that remains to be decided when a condemnation action is filed is the amount of just compensation, although in some cases the right to take may be challenged by the property owner on the grounds that the attempted taking is not for a public use, or has not been authorized by the legislature, or because the condemnor has not followed the proper procedure required by law.

From the Maple Ridge Concerned Citizens

Amy Steele of the times nails it in the opening line of her latest

article regarding Northumberland Court when she describes it as a drawn
out saga.

http://www2.canada.com/mapleridgetimes/news/story.html?id=a0a8b919-6ce8-4561-afda-fbf9df2cb19d

What we at MRCCC have to add to this story is a discussion
about the other race that is going on over Northumberland Court, and
this race is around whether Steve Creighton will be around as the
administrator after June 30 to keep pursuing court actions against
the city over the other remedial actions imposed on Northumberland Court.

The initial court case, Kwasnica v Strata Plan NW8 - #076868, that
brought about a court appointed administrator was based around the idea
that an administrator would bring order to the complex, and this would
take a finite amount of time. When one looks at the last six months we
have a total of 7 police raids, two shootings, one arson attempt, and
who can forget the recent incident with the police tactical team being
called out while the helicopter circled overhead for a few hours.
Suffice to say after all that one would be hard pressed to say that
things are in order at Northumberland Court, and now the time imposed by
the judge to have an administrator is just about up.

Reading the oral judgment from case #076868 the term set by Judge
Melnick had the administrator in place until June 30 2009. Looking at
the calender that day is fast approaching. Why this matters is because
depending on whether the administrator is re-appointed by the courts or
the appointment expires will largely dictate how many more times
Northumberland Court ends up in Provincial court. It is baffling though
how much money has been spent, and looks to be spent, on court cases.
The question that constantly comes up is why is that money not being
spent on the remedial repairs?

According to Mike Kwasnica,who rents the two suites he owns at
Northumberland, the plan is to get the judge to put definite
orders/actions in to the new appointment of the administrator. His
belief is that if the judge will do this then if Athwal will not perform
these court orders Kwasnica and the Administrator will then take him to
court again to get these orders/actions enforced. Before all of this
though the administrator will have to enter into another race with the
city to get an injunction in court against the city remedial actions because
those are due July 31 09, essential one month from now. Now assuming
that Kwasinca and the Administrator can get definite orders put into the
appointment of the administrator they will still have to go through the
process of getting Athwal to perform the tasks and when Athwal does not
(see the case the city brought against Athwal regarding Morse Creek)
this will add another court case to show that he is not complying with
the court order. Assuming the two of them can show that Athwal is not
and will not perform the tasks they will then have to begin the process
of collecting the money to get the tasks done, which will be another
court case.

Once again, lots of time in court, lots of money being spent and nothing
substantial changing at Northumberland Court. If any readers are
wondering why Mike Kwasnica, who by the way was the one to step up to
stop the demolish last time, is fighting so hard to save Athwal's burnt
out suites the reason is he has plans to purchase them and rehabilitate
them and all of us are supposed to sit back until November 2011 which is
the time line he is giving that this will all be solved. MRCCC made
enquiries as to whether the community could have any say into this
re-appointment or at the very least present that it has an inherent
interest in how this complex is run and by who, but as has been the case
many times in trying to get a solution if you can't afford lawyers you
can't be heard by the court system.

So where does this leave everyone that is living in and around, and
experiencing the daily affects of Northumberland? As hard as this group
has been on the city they are the best hope all of us have that this
will be settled in the next few months as opposed to several years. The
recent action to push forward with the demolition is a good sign the
city is giving this situation the attention it has been lacking for the
last six years. There are still many questions to ask the city in
regards to how this situation has been handled, and why it was handled
differently then other similar situations, but for now what is most
important is a long term positive solution that will respect the rights
of all residents and help to promote a safer community that is not
constantly subjected to situations that are dangerous and harmful to
everyone around them. Let's hope the city keeps up the pace, this is far
from over and though still too early to say that the end of this whole
debacle is near, one may be able to say that actions are on the table so
perhaps there is a glimmer that by the end of August we will see a very
different, and hopefully more positive situation at Northumberland Court.

One final note. MRCCC is looking at putting together a meeting that
ideally will have both MLA's in attendance. This meeting will give an
over view of SCAN (Safe Communities And Neighbourhoods) legislation.
Several other provinces already have this legislation in place and it
has proven quite affective in allowing communities to get concrete
action taken on issues by going through the Provincial office of the
Solicitor General as opposed to criminal court.

Golden Ears may herald new era for the City of Maple Meadows

From time to time - and this is one of those times - the issue of merging Pitt Meadows with Maple Ridge is raised.

With the combined populations now close to 100,000 it is probably the right time to consider once more the pros and cons of combining these two communities.

In truth they do not have much to offer one another as such. And the beneficiaries of such a merger would only be the citizens so it will be hard to convince the politicians and, moreover, the staff of Pitt Meadows and Maple Ridge that a merger would be desirable.

The present existence of our combined Parks and Recreation and joint RCMP seems for the most part to be functioning, so there is already to some degree precedent set for a universal merger.

Individually and, more pointedly, as separate civic entities, the Golden Ears Bridge has transported these two up-to-now somnambulant communities into a much larger arena in terms of competition.

We are dwarfed in every sense of the word by Surrey and Langley (oddly I saw a taxi from Abbotsford in Maple Ridge yesterday, which was a first for me) and if we are to take these communities on recreationally and economically we can do so better as a team rather than in our current independent state.

With Translink in the hotseat one is tempted to speculate that one council representing 100,000 people will fare (no pun intended) much better than the current, limp, two-district 75,000/17,000 combination.

A smaller, tighter, proactive team of fresh young politicians supported by fresh young and innovative staff, - visionaries, if you will - could step in to take Maple Meadows City into the middle of this century and beyond.

Certainly, there is room for both praise and crticism in Pitt Meadows as much as there is Maple Ridge. It makes sense, however, to amalgamate or merge as with any luck such a marriage would see the nasty stuff eliminated and only the good remaining. One should be aware however of landing up with only the dross.

Recently a woman made a very interesting comment to me. We were talking about downtown Maple Ridge and the battle for its revival. She felt that the problem was that we were trying to sovle the downtown problems in a top-down fashion whereas the solution would be better addressed in a 'people up' model. I agree. To ensure the continued revival of our downtown we need to fill the streets with pedestrians, young and old, with students, shoppers, visitors and families. In her her words she felt that the revival needs to 'bubble up from the streets' as opposed to being handed down from above by the politicians and bureaucrats. I agree with her on that too.

Anyone who has visited a town with a large university or campus as its centre will tell you what she means. It struck me that one of the assets in the combined Maple Meadows City may be a campus, built where the Haney Place Mall now stands. Unless it is transformed by the current owner into something that matches the era it occupies, it serves little or no purpose; unless of course we count it as a parking lot for film crews.

Combine our communities will make us a player in the valley. With 'buying power' and shared intellect going forward we can utilize our larger tax base to make this north east corner of the valley heard. If we do not we run the risk of not being simply a Johnny-come-lately community, but one that never arrived at all.

From: Maple Ridge Concerned citizens website

According to the agenda for Tuesday night's city council meeting, item number 800 is an update on what is occurring at Northumberland Court. Oddly enough this will be only a verbal report and there is nothing in the package to give some idea of what will be discussed. Whether at the end of the report there will be a question period remains to be seen. Regardless, those who are able to attend and willing to sit through an entire council meeting will have the opportunity to ask questions regarding the progress, or lack there of at Northumberland Court. For this reason the following question will ideally be asked at the council meeting on June 23rd.

- For years the city has made reference to the strata act of BC as the reason it has allowed the abuse at NW8 to carry on for so long. Could you please inform the citizens of Maple Ridge what sections of the Strata Act have rendered the city unable to act in any meaningful way and allowed one individual to run roughshod over the rights of an entire community?

- At the last council meeting questions were not answered because it was stated that the city is facing legal action, but when one searches the court filings at Vancouver, New Westminster, and Coquitlam they do now show that the District of Maple Ridge is facing any court actions tied into Northumberland Court. Can you please state what court case is against the city, which court house it is being heard in and what is the court case number?

- Please give the details of the business license suspension of Jagdev (Jack) Singh Athwal: how long will it last, what process needs to be followed for him to get his business license back, is he allowed to still be a landlord if the suites are already occupied, feel free to add anything that will shed some light on this situation.

- It has now come to light that the provincial government is again sending cheques for lodging to buildings at Northumberland Court even though the land lord has had his business license suspended, what is the city doing to enforce this suspension and ensure that it's own bylaws are respected, put another way why should citizens respect the bylaws of Maple Ridge if the provincial government does not?t

- Hypothetically speaking If a building has had it's gas, electrical and plumbing system tampered with what level of tampering would have to occur for it to still have an occupancy permit?

- Building Bylaw 6180-2003 which regulates the alteration, repair, and demolition of buildings and structures in Maple Ridge states in section 32.1 that “Every person who contravenes any provision of this bylaw commits an offence punishable on summary conviction and shall be liable to a fine of not more than $10,000 dollars or to imprisonment for not more than six months.” Would this bylaw apply to the owner of a structure who has knowledge that these alterations has occurred?

There have been no updates to the website for the last several weeks due to computer difficulties, these problems have been fixed and the hope is to update the website over the next week.

www.mrccc.org

No need for big box in Albion or small box in Maple Ridge town centre now

Now that Surrey and Langley have opened their malls - for those who actually need these things - the shoppers of our little village need no longer pine for a mall in the Albion or any other location in Maple Ridge.

We can all take our dollars South (and it seems this weekend we already did) and the poor buggers in Surrey and Langley who need a mountain to climb, or a lake to swim in can visit glorious Maple Ridge. And before they leave they van pick up a souvenir at one of our dollar stores, snack on some fast food, take a tourist pic of Northumberland Court (I visited Haney this weekend and got the T-shirt).

The politicians and staff in Maple Ridge have spent decades discussing local issues and totally ignored the world as it goes about its business beyond our borders. Oddly, this may work in our favour.

Like so many I drove the Golden Ears Bridge this week. I have to say that the journey south into the wasteland (smelly wasteland) of industrial oblivion was not nearly as pleasant as returning to the vista of mountains and green landscapes driving north.

So, now we really are the West Vancouver of the Valley. Nothing but recreation and fun. I'm good with that.