Brackendale Property Owner to Sue District 

 

A Brackendale property owner is planning to take the province and the District of Squamish to the court for what he claims is unlawful and discriminatory decision that has cost him millions of dollars. This would be the second time Don McCargar of Edmonton is taking the district to court. In 2011, a BC judge ordered the district of Squamish to issue a development permit to McCargar to build a modular home on his land on the river side of the dike. McCargar now says the district is defying the judge’s order and not applying the rules in a just and fair manner as it follows the province in putting a stop work order on the road access he was building to his property. 

McCargar alleges the district wants to appropriate the land for park and has placed one hurdle after another for his goal to develop the land, which is zoned rural residential. He is suing the district of Squamish for a claim of $723 million for what he says is an unfair and prejudiced application of policy. 

McCargar claims the district widened the dike by placing the material on the river side of the dike, which brought the toe of the dike closer to his modular home. In 2013, the province told McCargar since the modular home was less than 7.5 metres from the toe of the dike, the modular home had to be moved. He says there was nowhere for him to move the modular home. 

The ministry also told him he couldn’t fill against the dike for his fill pad for a second modular home without its permission. Don sees as a contravention of the court order. Besides following the province in putting a stop work order, He says he has also been wronged by the district on the approval of his 7-10 lot subdivision on the east side of the dike. He says the district gave him preliminary approval but then informed him he would have to satisfy a 200-year flood-control level requirement for the dike. Last year, the district set aside the preliminary approval for his subdivision and rejected his application as it didn’t meet the requirements of a new 200-year FCL criteria established by the Association of Professional Engineers.  McCargar alleges the town doesn’t want to let his subdivision application go through with an aim to devalue his property. 

“Squamish held back my  rezoning and OCP amendment of my land, which had received first and second reading in last  September and was going for third and fourth reading approval,” he said.