Kelowna diamond mogul waits to hear fate of waterfront home's view
One of Kelowna's wealthiest residents will now have to wait for a judge to make a decision that could dramatically affect the pristine views he currently gets from his 6,000 square foot lakeside home.
Kelowna geologist and multimillionaire Charles Edgar Fipke, launched a legal case against the City and Aqua Resort Ltd in an effort to block the building of a huge resort-style residential development from stacking up next to his South Pandosy home.
Fipke filed the suit last summer and a four-day hearing just wrapped up in Vancouver last week.
The fate of his view, and the numerous birds that call the area home, is now in the fate of the judge.
READ MORE: City of Kelowna, developer sued by diamond hunter over massive lakeshore condo project
The geologist that made his money after finding diamonds in the Northwest Territories, filed his lawsuit after Aqua Resort had received multiple permits from the City, but clearly hopes his application could at least halt the development of the 154 lakefront homes spread over three towers at Aqua Waterfront Village.
"Step out your front door and onto the sandy beaches or explore the waterfront boardwalk towards a village of shops, cafés and restaurants. Maybe it’s your vacation getaway. Maybe it’s your new normal. Here at Aqua, living on lake time is yours to define," reads the company's website.
Fipke lives on Capozzi Road and aims to block Aqua, who is part of the Mission Group, from buildings its proposed three towers of 13, 15 and 17 storeys next to his single-family home.
The Mission Group is behind a multitude of Kelowna developments, including the Brooklyn highrise, a 25-storey tower on St. Paul Street that sold 70 per cent of its suites before it even opened its presentation centre. It is one of three towers dubbed the Bernard Block.
While multiple permits have been issued for the Aqua development, Fipke argues some of the permits shouldn't have been.
"The decision to authorize the development permit and variance permit is patently unreasonable because they authorize a development proposal beyond the power of council to approve," the court documents say.
Fipke points to the floor area ratio, known as the FAR limit, saying it's inconsistent with the limit set out in current bylaws.
The multimillionaire argues the FAR limit used submerged land when it was calculated.
The property developer filed a 44-page response containing multiple affidavits from land surveyors, engineers and other experts.
The court document says Fipke's calculations of the FAR limit are "simply incorrect.”
In the court documents, the company points out it has been working on a mixed-use residential and commercial development at the site since 2007.
Fipke's interpretation of the bylaw and his math skills are now waiting for a judge to decide whether or not he got it right.
No date has yet been set for the decision.
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