The City of Langford has filed a notice of civil claim against the Bear Mountain developer in order to recover what it alleges are overdue funds.
Ecoasis and Langford signed a memorandum of understanding in September 2016 for Ecoasis to pay $3,069,507.19 towards the extension of the Bear Mountain Parkway.
The developer then paid a portion of the parkway costs in development cost charge credits, but the two parties came to a dispute over the amount outstanding to be paid.
On Feb. 23, 2023, the two signed an agreement that Ecoasis would pay $1,886,353.84 in a payment plan for the remaining balance.
The first portion, $90,000, was due within 60 days of the agreement, then $300,000 would be due on the last day of the year between 2022 and 2027, with the final payment being just under $300,000.
The city says Ecoasis paid the first $390,000, but then the deadline for the next $300,000 payment on Dec. 31, 2023 passed without payment.
The repayment agreement also stipulates that if a payment is missed, then the entire remaining balance is due in full and that an additional amount equal to the interest charges would be due, which the city says as of March 14, 2024, is equal to $1,881,852.36.
The city says it sent a legal letter to Ecoasis on Jan. 24 requesting the full payment by no later than Jan. 31. The city did not receive a response, and followed up on Feb. 8 requesting the payment by no later than Feb. 14.
This also was not responded to, and the city says the last payment it received was on Jan. 31, 2022.
The city is now seeking Ecoasis to pay the full amount plus all of the City’s legal costs incurred in enforcing the settlement agreement.
Ecoasis has up to 49 days depending on whether they were inside or out of Canada when they were served with the notice to respond. Langford filed the notice on March 14, 2024.
Ecoasis has not yet filed a response to the claim, and did not respond to a request from CHEK News for comment.
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Laura Brougham
