A dispute around tall trees is heading to the highest court in the province.
A $3.12-million British Properties mansion has been overlooked for the three months it's been on the market due to the view-obstructing trees on a neighbouring property, according to a West Vancouver homeowner.
Xu Kuai, owner of a 4,400-square-foot home in tony Whitby Estates, filed a motion in B.C. Supreme Court Thursday to address the "injury and losses" he's suffered as a result of the towering timber.
Besides not being able to see the ocean for the trees, the vertical vegetation sapped the interest of potential buyers and impaired Kuai's enjoyment of the property, according to the suit.
The difference between a great view and a perfect view can be the difference between selling a house and not selling a house, according to West
Vancouver real estate agent Clarence Debelle.
"I can have a perfect view except for one tree," he said. "Trust me, when I go up there and I'm showing it to a buyer, instead of looking at the 98 per cent view that's perfect, they point to the one tree."
Debelle, who is handling Kuai's house, said he recently sold a house that - with a pristine view
- would have fetched $2 million more.
Kuai's Chippendale Road abode sits atop a slope overlooking a house on Hudson Court.
According to the lawsuit, the Hudson Court home is bound by a restrictive covenant that forbids any tree from growing higher than the roofline. The covenant, authored by British Pacific Properties, notes the negative impact unkempt
landscaping could have on the Chippendale home.
Romy Chen, owner of the Hudson Court home, has been in breach of the covenant since 2011,
according to Kuai, whose suit claims some trees exceed the roofline by 20 feet.
Despite repeatedly stating her willingness to
wield the axe, Chen has neglected to tend to the trees since 2012, according to the suit.
Besides hoping the judge will look at the trees
and order they be topped, Kuai is also suing for damages - and interest on those damages - caused by Chen's failure to trim the treetops.
