Caveat Emptor, Kanata, Caveat Emptor: THE VOTER

Published 10/27/2023 · Updated 10/27/2023

the.voter .logo

The Voter discusses the sad situation facing owners of land beside the soon-to-be-developed Kanata golf course lands:

I’ve wondered since the start of this kerfuffle if there is anything the homeowners can fall back on such as covenants in their deeds or maybe even in the original marketing of the individual properties or the community as a whole that puts the lots forward as backing onto an open space.

If there wasn’t, one wonders about the legal advice they got as purchasers that led them to make such a deal without a covenant that protected the expectation that the lots would be course-side in perpetuity or at least border on some type of open land such as parkland.

Court Allows For Kanata Golf Course Redevelopment

One of the first legal principles is, unless you have it in writing, it’s not worth the paper it’s written on. Expectations, understandings or gentleman’s agreements plus five bucks will about get you a cup of coffee these days. It was incumbent on the purchasers and their lawyers to ensure that the agreements they were relying on were ironclad and not rely on a commercial entity to act outside their own best interests at some future point. Other owners of similar properties should checking their legal documents carefully.

If you need another example of people misled to think they could rely on open space remaining that way, you have only to look at Lansdowne “Park” and how it has evolved from the public open space of the past to what is now being proposed for its future. Many people have bought into a community believing the developer’s artistic renderings of the community will actually be what their neighbourhood will look like only to find that the promised parks, schools and other amenities never appear.

Caveat emptor or “Let the buyer beware” isn’t just a dusty old Latin phrase. It’s up to you to do your homework and ensure that what you think you’re buying is what you are really buying.

The Voter is a respected community activist and long-time Bulldog commenter who prefers to keep her identity private.

—