One of my news beats is apparently “blocked views in Burnaby.”
I wrote recently about a homeowner suing the City of Burnaby for $1 million after it allowed a house to be built that blocked his amazing view of Vancouver. Then I was flooded with other people complaining about their views being blocked and expressing sympathy for the person in my original story.
Now I’ve been contacted by a resident in the Metrotown area upset about a bamboo grove that has done the unthinkable – growing tall enough to block his view.
The person sent in photos of the bamboo grove and other trees, as well as a photo of his apartment when he first moved in. The photo shows beautiful sunlight from the afternoon in his suite.
That sunshine is now gone.
“Initially I was told they had already spent money on that corner of the building, although I never did figure out what,” the reader wrote. “Then they told me that the bamboo predated my ownership and therefore it would not be removed. I kept writing to ask that the bamboo and trees/shrubs be cut back to fence level or removed. This got me a notice saying I would be ignored and any further correspondence from me would be considered bullying, harassing and intimidating behaviour with the adage that I was forbidden to speak with the landscapers even though I had never spoken with them. I wrote again this year and the result was the landscapers trimmed the bamboo so the 3rd floor got their view back, but my view, as you can see in the pictures, remains blocked. So, hopefully you can see why I think the city of Burnaby should have bylaws protecting owners' views and why I fully support this person's legal petition to have their view restored or major compensation given for their loss.”
I don’t really have an opinion on this one. My balcony has a kick-ass view but there is one tree that is growing faster than I’d really like and it’s obscuring Burrard Inlet. So I am sympathetic.
I don’t like that tree and my partner and I joke about how annoying it is to keep growing, but I’m certainly not going to ask anyone to cut it down.
What do you folks think? What are people owed when it comes to a view?
Follow Chris Campbell on Twitter @shinebox44.
