Garden Lease and Vote

Garden

The garden lease expires October 31, 2022.

Strata has not received any official notice from the developer about their plans for the space.

I have gathered information regarding the lease and expenses.

What is This Space?

This is what I was told when I first joined council as to what the garden space was officially:

Common Garden is located on limited common property. Since limited common property it is still common property, Strata Corporation is responsible for the repair and maintenance of common property.

The developer owns the “strata lot” that is really just a storage room and the “balcony/rooftop deck” for this strata lot is the garden space. 

What I was told — “The balcony is limited use common space, Mark owns the use of the lot but not the lot itself (much like a balcony or parking stall).  We lease it for $1 and pay the property tax for it and the storage space, because any alterations to the space must be approved by strata council.  He will try to sell it to us again at an inflated price, I recommend we continue to not buy it as this would not be financially responsible of us.  If history repeats itself, he will threaten to sell it to a business as a negotiating tactic, but a business can’t use the balcony space without strata approval.”

Garden Taxes & Expenses 2021-2022
Taxes & Expenses for the garden space = $5,310.38

City of Vancouver Taxes made up $3,232.91 of the above expenses.

Exact dates: January 31, 2021 – February 22, 2022

Current Lease 2019-2022

The current lease is in PDF format. Please use this link to have it open in a new tab for your review.
EPS3084 SL91 Community Garden Lease 2019-11-01 signed

 
Brief Summary
  1. Term: 3 years. November 1, 2019 – October 31, 2022
  2. Basic Rent: $1.00 / year
  3. Additional Rent: The Tenant will pay, as Additional Rent the cost of any insurance maintained for the Landlord on the Premises, and all goods and services tax or any similar tax or tax levied in substitution therefore (such as value added tax, business transfer tax or sales tax) on the Rent in accordance with applicable legislation together with the monthly instalments of Rent hereunder. The Tenant will pay the Property Taxes, and the Strata Assessments, and any special assessments or levies.
  4. Permitted Use under Lease: The Limited Common Property comprising the Premises will be used for the purpose of an urban garden for use by residents of the Development and Strata Lot 91 will be used for storage and other ancillary uses related to such urban garden. The Limited Common Property comprising the Premises will be used for the purpose of an urban garden for use by residents of the Development and Strata Lot 91 will be used for storage and other ancillary uses related to such urban garden.
  5. Vacating The Premises: Immediately prior to the expiration of the Term or immediately following the termination thereof, the Tenant will remove all personal property from the Premises. The Landlord may stipulate which Leasehold Improvements are to be removed from the Premises by the Tenant and which Leasehold Improvements are not to be removed from the Premises. The Tenant will repair any damage caused to the Premises or the Development occasioned by such removal at the Tenant’s cost, . All personal property of the Tenant remaining in the Premises following the expiration or termination of the Term will, at the option of the Landlord, become its property and may be appropriated, sold, removed, destroyed or otherwise disposed of by the Landlord without notice or obligation to compensate or account to the Tenant. Any Leasehold Improvements or other property in the Premises not removed by the Tenant in accordance herewith may be removed by the Landlord and the Tenant will pay all costs associated therewith plus an administration fee to the Landlord of 15% of such costs. The Tenant must return the keys to the landlord in 2 business days following the expiry of the lease.