Security camera peering down over shed roof
into neighbour's back yard
On May 2, 2014, the Property Manager and maintenance man installed front and rear security cameras on the unit next door to a member the Board of Directors chose to evict.
On June 11, 2014 a month after police notified the co-op that this was illegal, the police entered the unit outfitted with the cameras and repositioned them. They stated in no uncertain terms that if the cameras were moved, to call them and they'd come back and address the situation again.
The Property Manager at the Member's Appeal Meeting stated that the cameras only 'looked' like they were focusing in on the potential evictee's backyard and driveway. The reason: It only seemed as though the cameras were pointed that way because of the siding of the building - besides which these cameras were being tested because other cameras were going to be placed around the co-op.
The member whose unit the cameras were mounted on stated that her flowers had once been trampled. The front camera pointed directly down on the targeted member's driveway nowhere near any flowers, both backyards are fenced in and the camera was pointed directly into the neighbour's yard.
The Property Manager stated that the Board of Directors had photos of a water bowl and a feeding dish for cats and that constituted the grounds for evicting the member - she had violated By-law 26 - Feeding animals and wildlife.
By-law 26 - Enforcement states:
1. For the first violation the Co-op will issue a written warning.
2. For the second violation, the member will be issued a $25.00 fine.
3. For the third and subsequent violation, the member will be issued a $50.00 [fine] and a notice to appear before the Board of Directors.
The member received a Notice to Appear before the Board of Directors for a $25.00 fine, with no deadline for payment. In so doing, the Board of Directors violated their own By-law.
The Property Manager had an answer for that: The Board of Directors didn't 'feel' like giving the member in question a $50.00 fine; instead they chose to evict her.
The Property Manager distributed a list of complaint letters replete with names and dates going back to 1996. The member attended her Hearing before the Board of Directors on April 29, 2014 and lo and behold a complaint letter written by my next-door neighbour was received by the co-op on April 28, 2014! (My neighbour told me about an incident which happened several years ago - bird poop on the roof of her car attributed to birds attracted to a bird feeder). The Board of Directors did their homework unscrupulously well.
The Board of Directors declared that the member did not meet the co-op's standards for co-operative living and so declared her a 'Nuisance'.
Now my next-door neighbour who complained about the bird poop on the roof of her car, has never attended one meeting in the co-op in the decades she's been here, but she meets the 'coop's standards for co-operative living' as do all the other members who are in non-compliance with the co-op's by-laws and policies as we speak.
The meeting was raucous - members were shouted at by the CHF Chairperson and members shouted right back at him. He warned a member that he would call police. Someone most likely did because three patrol officers on bikes (we live beside a park) were soon at the front walkway of our office building.
It was voting time. The Property Manager handed out ballots in a candy bowl fashion. She stated that they didn't need to do this in an organized way because she could remember everyone she had given a ballot to. Fifteen seconds later when my husband asked for a ballot, without missing a beat, she taunted, 'Didn't I give you one before?' And then - she gave him one. To quote one of her admonitions to a member: You don't know WHO you are dealing with.
Well, some members are realizing who they are chillingly dealing with.
The vote was NOT to evict the member.
Congrats to the member who beat this bogus eviction attempt.
ReplyDeletePresence of a CHF toadie to chair is no surprise. Can't see how cops would've got involved unless threats were made or fistfights ensued. Besides, they already knew about security camera issue because they took care of matter.
As for BOD not following the by-laws they passed, that's hardly surprising. To them, by-laws, are a nuisance when it comes to them getting their own way.
Speaking of nuisance, it seems like BOD is trying to interpret that as something along the lines of "conduct detrimental to the co-op". BC Co-op law had that provision until recently. Using nuisance provisions under new eviction Bill and RTA requires a lot more than that to prove their case. Especially since it's your BOD and PM who are the nuisances.
I didn't realize your PM had a razor-sharp memory to know how many of the presumably dozens of Members there got a ballot.
You're right about your PM's "admonition." Tho I have to be careful here what I say, I think they are dealing with a petty, wound-up, bitter individual who seems to have an inflated sense of her "power." Reminds of something I heard a while back. Those who are the most obsessive about power usually don't have as much as they think.
I can only imagine her mood and that of the BOD just after the meeting. Sounds like they were exposed to the Members for what they are. Doubt they would have taken that too well. I wonder tho whether this defeat was enough for them to smarten up.
Thanks so much for your comment. The Property Manager stated at the meeting that she really doesn't like to see anyone lose their housing, but she's extremely efficient in her efforts to evict members. I'm quite sure she had all the documents drawn up to pop into the member's mailbox at precisely 9:00 a.m. the following morning. That would be followed by numerous entries into the unit upon very limited notice to intimidate the member.
ReplyDeleteA member being evicted under the Nuisance By-law must vacate within 10 days - most certainly leaving a subsidized person homeless.
To exact the ultimate cruelty the Property Manager prints off and signs her own version of a Do Not Trespass Order warning that the person will be arrested if he/she sets foot on the property ever again. In so doing, she succeeds in separating and crushing extended families. A perfectly diabolical scheme - sick to most people, but not all!