FILE PHOTO - Gallagher's Canyon Golf Course.

Image Credit: Kelowna.com

East Kelowna residents say their neighbourhood stinks.

Residents of Gallagher's Canyon are taking the developer behind the golf course and neighbourhood to court over what they claim is a failure to maintain utilities.

There are 644 homes in the Gallagher's Canyon development, all connected to a private wastewater treatment plant.

A group of property owners say it was over capacity from the beginning and has only gotten worse over time, according to a notice of claim filed in BC Supreme Court.

The water treatment plant was built in 1994, capable of hosting 180 homes and the golf course club house. The initial development for Gallagher's Canyon, however, had 540 homes.

By 2001, the developer built 145 more homes. The club house was never connected, but the plant was nevertheless overburdened with too many homes, according to the claim.

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The Gallagher's Canyon Property Owners Association took on a repair bill for the treatment facility in 2012. The association bought a second rotating biological contactor, a major component to the treatment system, while the second was no longer useable.

According to the claim, the developer said it was considered maintenance, so it was the association's responsibility.

By 2022, the association had the first one fixed while the newer contactor was being repaired.

The developer originally had a "phased" approach, where the wastewater plant's capacity would be increased over time. That didn't happen, according to the claim, until the property owners paid for the new component.

The association claims the developer "misrepresented" the plant's capacity from 2001 to 2022, advising that it didn't need to be expanded.

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While the once-undersized treatment plant is now working with two contactors, the association claims its odour control and ventilation has been "inadequate" since it was build, adding that it currently needs to be replaced.

The lawsuit names multiple companies as defendants, including CRC Canadian Retirement Corporation, Gallagher's Canyon Land Development Ltd and Golf BC Holdings Inc. They are all, however, owned by Vancouver-based co-defendant Burrard International Development Inc.

CRC Developments vice-president Doug Allan said his company has been the developer of the resort community for nearly 30 years, and it's the owner of the wastewater plant. The company hasn't been served with the claim yet, so he would not comment on the specifics.

"We have a multi-decade relationship with (the association) and have been working cooperatively with them over that time in our role as not only the developer, but plant owner and permit holder. Therefore, we find it surprising that this claim is now being made. We expect to fully answer and defend against any allegations," Allan said in an written response.

The property owner association's claims haven't been proven in court and no response has been filed.

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