Tribunal orders Coquitlam strata to let new restaurant connect to fire safety system after “burdensome” delays

A commercial strata owner in Coquitlam has won a lengthy dispute with his strata corporation after the B.C. Civil Resolution Tribunal (CRT) ruled the strata acted in a “burdensome, harsh, and unfairly prejudicial” way, delaying a restaurant from opening for months.

In an Aug. 1 written decision, CRT tribunal member J. Garth Cambrey ordered the strata corporation governing the Grand Central towers – a 642-unit mixed-use high-rise complex on Glen Drive – to immediately allow Ferdows Soltani to connect his kitchen’s fire suppression system to the building’s main fire alarm panel.

Soltani claimed the strata’s delays cost him more than $500,000 in lost income and extra contractor costs. He sought damages, but the tribunal dismissed these claims as they were not included in the initial dispute filing and it was too late to add.

“Overall, I agree with Mr. Soltani that the strata caused unreasonable delay in approving what I find are fairly routine requests of a commercial strata lot owner,” Cambrey said. “I find the strata’s actions were burdensome, harsh, and unfairly prejudicial to Mr. Soltani, such that it treated him in a significantly unfair manner.”

Soltani co-owns a ground-floor commercial unit, and began tenant improvement in July 2023 to facilitate a new restaurant after securing a building permit from the City of Coquitlam. The work included minor changes to drainpipes and fire sprinklers inside his unit, and installing a commercial kitchen fire suppression system, which city regulations required to be connected to the building’s alarm panel.

According to the decision, Soltani said the strata repeatedly denied or delayed his requests to access common property spaces – including a bike and storage locker room located below his unit – to complete the plumbing work and to connect the suppression system.

The strata argued that these upgrades involved “significant changes” to common property under the Strata Property Act, and  required a three-quarters vote of owners before approval.

While the CRT found the drainpipes and sprinkler lines were part of the building’s common property and therefore required permission, none of the upgrades met the legal test for a “significant change.” This meant the strata could have approved them directly without a membership vote.

“The strata’s insistence that the work must be approved by a three-quarters vote of the owners was not only incorrect, but cause for further unreasonable delay,” Cambrey said.

The decision notes that the strata gave no explanations for its initial denial in September 2023, and only later imposed new conditions, including indemnity agreements and oversight by its own contractors, all at Soltani’s expense – terms he eventually accepted by February 2024.

“I find it was unreasonable for the strata to continue to raise new things it required of Mr. Soltani only to deny him the fire panel connection,” Cambrey said. “This is especially true considering the city clarified the fire panel connection was necessary, and the strata’s own contractor confirmed it was willing to connect the equipment, at Mr. Soltani’s cost.”

The strata then refused to hold a vote or grant access to Soltani once they learned he began CRT proceedings in May 2024. 

Forced to work around the impasse, Soltani completed the plumbing and sprinkler changes entirely from within his unit with city approval. But the fire suppression system remained unconnected, keeping the restaurant closed.

The CRT also highlighted that three other commercial units in the complex already had fire suppression systems tied into the main panel. While the strata argued those owners may have been in bylaw contravention, Cambrey said denying Soltani the same connection while taking no clear action against the others supported his claim of significant unfairness.

The tribunal also rejected the strata’s position that triggering the system would unduly inconvenience 628 residential owners, finding that such an alarm would be “no different than if a fire detection device was triggered in any other strata lot … something that I find is reasonable in order to protect all residents from a potential building fire.”

Cambrey called the strata’s alternative suggestion – installing an independent fire panel in the restaurant – “burdensome and harsh” with “no evidence the city would accept it.”

The order requires the strata to immediately permit the connection through a qualified contractor, subject to city approval. If the strata fails to comply, the ruling can be filed and enforced in B.C. Supreme Court.

The CRT ordered the strata to reimburse Soltani’s $225 CRT filing fee.