Feed on
Posts
Comments

Welcome to Marina Estates

Jan 1st, 2010 by

If you are looking for an even more comprehensive resource for Strata Owners in BC, check out the new Strata Zen site and social media resources.

 

Welcome to the (owner created) home page of the Marina Estates ocean and mountain view condominium complex located in beautiful Squamish BC. This web site has been created, and is maintain, by Johnny Stork who has been an owner since 2004. This site is intended to serve a number of purposes:

  • General Resource for Marina Estates Owners
  • Specific Resource for Publicly Available Legal Documents
  • Transparent Disclosure of Strata Council Activities
  • A Public Forum for Marina Estates and Other Strata Owners
  • An Experiment in Strata Owner Collaboration
  • A Demonstration of the Value of a Strata-Owned Information Web Site

While checking out the material on this site, please add your comments or suggestions, take some of the polls,  and if you would like to participate in a new Facebook Group dedicated to finding ways to improve strata living, check out Strata Zen. There is also a closed group for Marina Estates so if you are an owner at Marina Estates, consider joining this private group. The Resources Page also provides links to all sorts of legal and other strata-related sites, Act’s and information. Remember, the ONLY way you can ensure that your home, your assets, your livelihood are protected while living in a strata, is to GET INVOLVED. If you don’t get involved, you may end up like many Marina Estates owners who LOST THEIR HOMES!

Continue Reading »

Tags:

Posted in General | Comments Off

URGENT!: Strata Property Dispute Resolution Public Consultation

Sep 21st, 2011 by

The BC government’s Housing Policy Branch is seeking public input into strata property dispute resolution. This is welcome news to the hundreds of thousands of strata owners in BC who have been fighting for improved oversight, accountability and dispute resolution in strata housing. Far too many strata owners have suffered personally, economically and emotionally from the misguided actions of ill-informed, irresponsible or negligent strata councils, some of which have even acted outside of the law or the Strata Property Act and caused significant damage to the lives of thousands of home owners. This public survey is the first step towards new strata legislation which should (hopefully) provide for greater oversight, accountability, education and resources for strata owners and strata property managers. Please take the time to provide your valuable input towards this process and complete the survey linked below.

Thank you

Strata Property Dispute Resolution Public Consultation Survey

Tags: , , ,

Posted in Legal | No Comments »

Marina Estates Strata Council Denies Request to Support Food-Drive

Aug 16th, 2011 by

“Compassion is not religious business, it is human business, it is not luxury, it is essential for our own peace and mental stability, it is essential for human survival.”
(Dalai Lama)

 

Squamish, like most communities, has its share of homeless, low-income families and single-parents who rely on the compassion and generosity of others to survive. Regardless of your philosophy on social-services or the homeless, the reality is that many individuals and families live on wages well below the poverty line, if they have any income at all. These unfortunate members of our community don’t deserve our judgements or dismissive comments like “why don’t they just get a job” or “if I help them it will only go to drugs anyway“. Everyone in need of help deserves our compassion, our support, a kind word, a kind gesture. Something to help them get through the day or in many cases just something to eat for themselves or their children. Most people possess enough compassion and the desire to help, that we have seen many groups and individuals in Squamish do just that -  help. And really, how hard is to simply reach into your pocket and hand over a few dollars in change to someone who truly needs it for the basics of life? My partner and I are fortunate to be able to call a few of the Squamish homeless our friends and although we can always do more, we have often tried to help out with cash, food, clothing, a drive to a doctor or a bag of refundable bottles. Clive, (Dumpster) Jimmy, Ken, Sandy, Lorna and many others who’s names I don’t recall, have always been grateful and appreciative of any help we, and others, are able to provide.  There are many others in Squamish who go out of their way to help the less-fortunate in our community.

Most people seem to have no trouble handing over cash and gratuities to those working in the service industry, so why should we not be able to hand over a little cash or food to those who need it most. Or at the very least, support the efforts of others to bring food and other donations to the homeless and working poor. This is certainly the case with many in Squamish who selflessly give up their time, services and even cash to the many needy groups in town. The exception would appear to be the four owners who make up the Marina Estates Strata Council. When asked about putting up a box in our shared/community club house so owners could drop off some food for an upcoming Food Drive, the response from strata council was decisive, heartless and straight to the point.

“they (Strata Council) have denied your request for the food bank drive“

Continue Reading »

Tags: , , ,

Posted in Strata Council | No Comments »

Dynamic Property Management: Formal Privacy (PIPA) Complaint

Aug 15th, 2011 by


“Relying on the government to protect your privacy is like asking a peeping tom to install your window blinds.”
(John Perry Barlow)

 

Dynamic Property Management is the acting agent for Marina Estates, under direction from the Marina Estates strata council. During various safety, professional misconduct and legal issues which began in May 2010 regarding Sea To Sky Fire Prevention Services, owner privacy (protected by PIPA) was blatantly violated by Dynamic Property Management which led to owners being harassed along with their privacy violated. Below are links to the original privacy breach complaint filed with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner, as well as a recent (August 15 2011) update.

Although the formal complaint of a privacy breach was leveled against Dynamic Property Management, the Marina Estates strata council were also named due to failing to respond to owner privacy complaints, failure to provide the name of a “Privacy Officer” or provide privacy-related documents required under current privacy legislation (PIPA).

Original Privacy Complaint (June 22 2010)

First Response from the Office of the Privacy Commissioner (July 9 2010)

Second Response from the Office of the Privacy Commissioner (December 9 2010)

Today, August 15 2011, I received the final letter from the Office of the Privacy Commissioner formally concluding the investigation of Dynamic Property Management and the Marina Estates strata council with regards to numerous violations of the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA).

Continue Reading »

Tags: , , , , ,

Posted in General, Legal, Privacy, Property Management, Strata Council | No Comments »

Strata Zen – New Strata Advocacy & Support Site

Jul 27th, 2011 by

“If people concentrated on the really important things in life,
there’d be a shortage of fishing poles.”
(Doug Larson)

 

 

The Marina Estates web site has generated a great deal of support and recognition as a site which not only exposed some of the pitfalls of poor strata management practices, but  has also served as a clearinghouse for general tips and resources for strata owners. Therefore a new web site dedicated to educating, collaborating, informing and supporting BC strata owners has now been created called Strata Zen. The name of the new site reflects the underlying goal – supporting, advocating and providing resources to strata owners which may help to improve the strata living experience.

Continue Reading »

Tags: , ,

Posted in General, Strata Life, Strata Zen | No Comments »

Finding a Good Strata Lawyer

Mar 22nd, 2011 by

 

“What’s the difference between a lawyer and a catfish?”

“One is a slimy, bottom dwelling, scum sucker. The other is a fish.”

 

 

If you were to believe all those lawyer jokes, you would be forgiven for thinking that actually finding a “good” lawyer was an impossible task. One way of look at finding a good lawyer is that it’s like finding a good computer geek or mechanic. They are both hard to find but once you do find one, you want to keep them for good! When we mortals, those without all those advanced degrees and extensive education, need specialized professional services from a lawyer, it is hard not to feel intimidated or helpless. On top of all the legal talk and mumbo-jumbo that sounds like a language from another planet, we are usually already stressed by whatever prompted the need for the legal services in the first place. Maybe it’s a pending divorce (Family Law). Maybe you have been threatened with a law suit for saying (slander) or writing (libel) something negative about someone (Defamation Law). Or, maybe you have bought into a leaky-condo strata complex where you feel that you were not adequately informed of all the facts (Real Estate Law – Failure to Disclose). Or, maybe your strata council has not always worked in your best interest as an owner, and this has cost you money or put you at some sort of risk (Real Estate Law, Condominium Law – Negligence). Or, in the worst case, maybe your strata council failed to carry out their duties fully, diligently, transparently and in full compliance with local laws, Act’s or other regulations and this contributed to the loss of your home (Real Estate Law, Condominium Law – Negligence). Section 31 of the Strata Property Act defines strata council members standard of care as follows;

“In exercising the powers and performing the duties of the strata corporation, each council member must act honestly and in good faith with a view to the best interests of the strata corporation, and exercise the care, diligence and skill of a reasonably prudent person in comparable circumstances.” (Section 31, SPA)

So here you are. You know you need a “good” lawyer and you suspect it’s going to cost a great deal of money, regardless of the quality of the legal services you obtain. Much like dealing with a doctor when you have a serious illness, you’re likely filled with stress, anxiety, fear and have lots of questions.  A situation, a relationship, where one-side typically holds most of the cards, most of the knowledge and so you need to hand over the reigns of any number of serious, personal and often costly decisions to someone you barely know. If there is any industry where service-providers need to establish and demonstrate trust, beyond the medical field, it is the legal system. So where does one begin? Continue Reading »

Tags:

Posted in Contractors, Legal | 2 Comments »

Sea to Sky Fire Prevention: Formal Complaints Filed

Mar 17th, 2011 by

“Have the courage to say no. Have the courage to face the truth.
Do the right thing because it is right.
These are the magic keys to living your life with integrity.”

(W Clement Stone)

 

 

Last year we had the unfortunate experience of being insulted, lied to, trespassed, our safety compromised, insurance liability risked, personally threatened and harassed by a company hired to replace our sprinkler heads. We then had to deal with a (failed) legal attempt to sue us for Defamation after we posted the transcript of events and conduct on a blog naming the culprits. We only posted the events in the name of public safety, AFTER it was clear that nobody was willing to accept any responsibility. As if that were not enough, neither the strata council nor Dynamic Property Management considered the unethical and dangerous conduct of the contractor to be a problem. In fact Dynamic Property Management tried to bring the same contractor BACK into our home! Then, to top it all off, the issue was completely dismissed and trivialized in the next Strata Council Meeting Minutes where the only mention was that “one owner had a problem with the contractor”!

The company who carried out and apparently condoned such conduct, and launched the failed law suit, was Sea To Sky Fire Prevention owned by Mr George Stefan and the employee who was responsible for the misconduct, was Shawn Huard. When these unfortunate events took place in April of 2010, Mr George Stefan and Sea To Sky Fire Prevention had numerous opportunities to simply “do the right thing”.  All that would have been required to have ended this issue and our public safety concerns, was for Mr Stefan to have accepted responsibility for the shocking and unethical misconduct of his employee, apologize, and ensure us that he was taking the necessary and reasonable steps to ensure it would not happen again, to anyone. This is NOT a personal issue in any way. This is an issue of PUBLIC SAFETY, BREACH OF ETHICS and PROFESSIONAL MISCONDUCT. Therefore our reasonable expectation for accountability and assurances that this conduct would not be repeated, are based on a concern for the public who may face similar misconduct in the future. In the article titled “How To Register a Complaint“, Tony Gioventu from the Condominium Home Owners Association (CHOA) reinforces the need to file formal complaints with both licensed, and non-licensed professionals involved with strata corporations.

“If a professional has committed misconduct, breach of ethics or breach of legislative obligations,
it is critical that consumers gather data and evidence and file complaints.” (Tony Gioventu)

Since the quality of services provided by Sea To Sky Fire Prevention directly impact PUBLIC SAFETY,  and they have failed to accept any responsibility or provide any assurances that the dangerous misconduct would not be repeated, formal complaints have now been filed with the following agencies in order to ensure public safety.

Continue Reading »

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Posted in Contractors, Strata Life | No Comments »

Ongoing Censorship at Marina Estates

Mar 15th, 2011 by

“Censorship reflects a society’s lack of confidence in itself.
It is a hallmark of an authoritarian regime.”
(Potter Stewart)

“We can never be sure that the opinion we are endeavoring to stifle is a false opinion;
and if we were sure, stifling it would be an evil still.”
(John Stuart Mill)

It would appear that censorship and efforts to prevent owners gaining access to legal, investigative and other information which they are LEGALLY ENTITLED to, is still rampant at Marina Estates. After having spent my own time and money to view and obtain copies of the legal filings at the Supreme Court, regarding our legal action against the District of Squamish, Ed Vernon and other’s, I made sure to post these PUBLIC documents on this web site for the owners benefit. Recall that this was a necessary step since strata council and McCarthy Tetrault have refused to provide these PUBLIC documents to owners on request. This web site also contains important information about other serious privacy and mismanagement issues which most owners are completely unaware of. This web site also includes various Resources for owners to better understand the laws, regulations and other aspects of strata living. There is also page with links to various media articles relating to Marina Estates and other strata’s. I have even posted a link to a Supreme Court Decision which was to OUR BENEFIT. There is even a page dedicated to putting together a proposal to strata council and owners to find some way to resolve our current, acrimonious relationship. Yet, for some reason, members of our strata community are continuing to go out of their way to try and prevent YOU the owner from accessing this material, and web site. I have now replaced the posters 5 times on our bulletin board and in the elevator. Someone continues to try and prevent owners from learning about this web site which primarily contains information which benefit the owners, or information which they have been denied. Although it is possible these posters are being removed by strangers, gnomes, fairies or maybe just playful children. What is more likely is that either/or our strata president, other members of strata council, or Dynamic Property Management are responsible. So what grounds do I have to make this assumption? Continue Reading »

Tags: , , , ,

Posted in General, Strata Council, Strata Life | No Comments »

Older Posts »