A settlement may be brewing in the legal dispute about an Aldershot home that was under construction, but has remained unfinished since 2019.
The owners of the home at 835 Spring Gardens Road, Ivan Rudyk and Shelley Young, each face charges alleging building permit violations.
At a September court hearing into the case, the lawyer for the Halton Region Conservation Authority (HRCA), Ken Jull, asked the judge to recess the case while private discussions continue with the hope of a settlement that would prevent a trial. He said that the engineering issues involved are complex, so the discussions are moving along slowly.
The judge put the case over to December 16.
The story started in 2018 when Rudyk and Young received permits to proceed with changes to their home. HRCA approval was needed because the home is located in an area of known slope instability. But there were problems. Ultimately, HRCA, supported by the city, accused the homeowners of building an entirely new home when their permit only allowed for an addition and renovations. Conservation Halton withdrew their building permit, claiming that “the existing dwelling was completely demolished and a new dwelling is now under construction…the work is beyond the scope of what was approved under the permit.” Charges followed.
The homeowners maintained that the construction was not for an entirely new home and went on to win the first two rounds in what would become a prolonged and complicated argument.
The Ontario Divisional Court ruled in December 2021 that the withdrawal of the building permit was “unreasonable and procedurally unfair” because HRCA failed to offer the residents the required show-cause hearing before taking away the permit. The court awarded the homeowners $100,000 in damages.
Then, the HRCA tried to appeal the $100,000 award, but the court refused and then awarded the homeowners another $5,000.
The case is highly complex and involves other parties in related disputes.
The Halton Region Conservation Authority has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on legal fees so far in its pursuit of the issue.
The house remains unfinished and a blight on the street.
