Residents of Hespeler ‘condo road’ dispute Cambridge city fee for fire hydrant
Waterloo Region Record
By Chris Herhalt
18 February 2015

CAMBRIDGE — Owners of a group of homes situated on a private Hespeler street that stretches the traditional definition of a condominium corporation say they shouldn't have to pay a monthly fee in addition to their property taxes for fire hydrant coverage.

"They're using the excuse that we're a condo corporation, but it doesn't matter, we're a residential street," said Dave Cahill, the president of the 15-home condominium board.

He said City of Cambridge officials have dismissed various condo groups' attempts to ask for fire hydrant fees to be reduced or waived.

"Every time one of them goes before council, they're railroaded," Cahill said. "They're told 'this is our decision, accept it.' "

The condo development consists of 12 fully detached homes on a private laneway that splits off from 90 Alderson Dr. Three other homes are part of the condominium board, but they are situated on River Road, completely separate from the others.

"We're kind of unique, one of a kind in Cambridge, as far as condos go," Cahill said.

City chief administrative officer Gary Dyke said that the city does not control the road and must levy some sort of fee to recover the cost of fire hydrant services from the residents.

"Their services are private services," Dyke said, referring to the area's waste collection, snow clearance and maintenance of the private laneway.

"We bring services to the edge of the property line and everything inside is theirs. That's similar to every condo we have in Cambridge or across the province."

He's offering Cahill's group a fee of $126 per month, to be spread between the 15 homeowners, to pay to service the nearby fire hydrant.

"I'm going to pay (the city) $126 per month for nothing," Cahill said, adding that he and others in the development fear they'll be billed for water used by the nearby hydrant in the event of a fire.

Dyke said the city will not bill the condo board for water used by the hydrant.

The city and the residents will meet on Feb. 25.

"To look at it, you wouldn't think it was a condo arrangement," said Mike Devine, councillor for the ward in which the Alderson and River Road the development resides.

He has asked city staff to produce a report documenting "how we got to where we are," referring to the past two years in which Cahill and others have fought the city over the hydrant fees.

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Staff urge Cambridge not to take over services for condo board
Waterloo Region Record
By Chris Herhalt
23 March 2015

CAMBRIDGE — The City of Cambridge should not take over service responsibilities for a private condominium corporation frustrated over added bills for fire hydrant fees, a report by city staff recommends.

In a report to be considered by Cambridge councillors Tuesday night, staff write that decertifying the bizarrely shaped development of 15 homes off of 90 Alderson Dr. in Hespeler could cost the city hundreds of thousands of dollars to bring the area up to municipal standards.

The report says that if the city were to take over water, road maintenance, streetlights and other responsibilities for the houses along the condo road, the city or the homeowners would incur as much as $650,000 in costs.

To widen the laneway to 18.5 metres, the city's ideal standard, would require "the complete removal of most of the units in the condominium," the report says.

"I found the report to be totally out to lunch," condominium board president Dave Cahill said in an interview.

He wondered how city public works staff were able to come up with costs for what would need to change if the city took over servicing the area, as he hasn't seen any city workers visit the area in the last three weeks.

"Nobody has come into the estate to do anything."

At a council meeting March 3, Cahill and two other residents of the condominium asked the city to take over the laneway that connects 12 of the 15 homes and decertify their condo corporation. They proposed decertification as a means to settle a dispute over fire hydrant fees levied by the city on the condo corporation, amounting to $5,200 over three years.

"We didn't even think they would take it over," Cahill said of the decertification request. "I thought they would sit down and try and negotiate something, which they've failed to do."

He said he was not notified by city staff or councillors about the staff report or its recommendations before he was contacted by a reporter Monday morning.

Other changes needed include moving and replacing water pipes, widening the roadway that joins 12 of the 15 homes together and connecting three of the condo board's homes on River Road to the municipal sewer system. The connecting work would cost $200,000.

City chief administrative officer Gary Dyke said residents of 90 Alderson Dr. were told last month to expect a staff report before Tuesday's council meeting.

"It's pretty straightforward math," Dyke said of how city public works staff calculated what bringing the area up to municipal standards would cost. "It was based on sizes of pipes, lengths of pipe, and various construction norms."

He said the city would have to bring the condominium and its road up to municipal standards if it assumed responsibility for servicing the area, as a matter of fairness.

"If we're being asked to assume (responsibility), to be fair to the balance of the municipality, we should be assuming services that are at the public standard."

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