Langford is suing Bear Mountain Resort owner Ecoasis Developments LLP for $1.88 million after claiming the company breached an agreement to make scheduled payments for its share of the Bear Mountain Parkway expansion.
The 3.6-kilometre road connected the Leigh Road interchange to the existing Bear Mountain Parkway at the Country Club Way roundabout at Bear Mountain Resort. Before the extension, the only way to access Bear Mountain Resort and nearby developments was to take the parkway from Millstream Road.
In a civil claim filed in B.C. Supreme Court, the City of Langford said Vancouver-based Ecoasis did not pay a yearly agreed-upon amount by Dec. 31, 2023. That triggered an act of default on a payment plan agreement and Langford now wants the entire outstanding amount owed plus additional costs.
The claim states Ecoasis is liable for $1,881,852 as well as all of the city’s costs in enforcing the settlement agreement, including interest and legal expenses.
Langford and Ecoasis entered into a memorandum of understanding on the extension of Bear Mountain Parkway on Sept. 6, 2016, where Ecoasis agreed to pay just over $3 million for construction of the parkway.
According to the claim, the company paid a portion of the road’s cost with development-cost charge credits, but a dispute arose regarding the amount owing to Langford and the timing of the developer’s payment.
The claim said that ultimately the two sides entered into a settlement agreement with an effective date of February 2023 when Ecoasis agreed to pay the city $1,886,353.
Ecoasis paid an initial $90,000 and another $300,000, but failed to make a scheduled payment of $300,000 by Dec. 31, 2023, the civil claim said. The payment plan was designed to also include $300,000 payments by the end of 2024, 2025 and 2026 and a final payment of $296,353 to complete the agreement.
But the missed payment at the end of 2023 triggered the default and Langford’s civil claim for the whole amount owed plus costs.
The claim said the city has not received any payment from Ecoasis since the $300,000 payment required by Jan. 31, 2022.
Langford’s payment plan agreement with Ecoasis states that when an act of default occurs the company also becomes liable for all the costs the city incurs in enforcing the settlement agreement, including legal costs and additional amounts that include interest charges.
Langford’s legal counsel sent an email to Ecoasis CEO Dan Mathews on Jan. 24 asking for what’s owed. When the city did not get a response, a demand letter was sent to Matthews on Feb. 8. The claim states a Feb. 14 deadline for payment was also not met.
The Bear Mountain Parkway extension officially opened in April 2018 and was celebrated at the time as alleviating congestion and gridlock, improving access for emergency responders and opening up further developments on Skirt Mountain.
The Times Colonist has sent an email to Ecoasis asking for comment.
Ecoasis owns about 500 acres of golf courses and trails on its private lands at Bear Mountain.
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