A Burnaby monk who had plans to build a Buddhist temple for his followers at a large property on Royal Oak Avenue has been ordered to vacate the home.
According to ruling in B.C. Supreme Court, a judge has ordered the Vietnamese Unified Buddhist Congregation of B.C. and anyone living in 8708 Royal Oak Ave. to cease occupancy in the home or any unpermitted additions and buildings located on the property.
The judge’s orders, which were filed on Jan. 22, also granted the City of Burnaby a permanent injunction requiring the owner to submit an application to the city for building permits to either demolish all structures or remediate the existing home to meet a number of conditions set out by the court and to meet bylaws.
A Buddhist monk named Le Thuan owns the 7.4-hectare property and spoke to the Burnaby NOW in December after the original petition was filed by the city.
The monk, originally from Vietnam, has lived at the property for 13 years, and intended to build a meditation centre or temple on the site for the Vietnamese Unified Buddhist Congregation of B.C., which he leads.
Over the years, he built several additions to the property, including a temple and two dining halls.
In all, he spent about $300,000 on additions, raised by the congregation he estimates to be between 300 to 500 people from around Metro Vancouver.
But the work had run afoul of the city bylaws.
The city claimed in court documents the owner built numerous additions to the property between 2002 and 2014 without any permits.
In January 2015, the city conducted an inspection of the property and identified numerous health, bylaw and safety infractions related to the unpermitted additions.
Following the inspection, documents note the city shut off the power to the property pending the completion and approval of the required repairs.
The property is located in the Agricultural Land Reserve and a temple is not permitted use. In March, Thuan applied to the Agricultural Land Commission to subdivide the property for non-farm use, but the city refused to support the application.
The city also said it learned in September Thuan and some monks continued to live in the home and use one of the buildings as a place of worship despite the “do not occupy” notices, but he insisted he doesn’t live on the property and only tends to the land on a daily basis.
The court also ordered the owner, once he gets the building permits, to complete all the necessary construction and demolition and final approval within 120 days.
