A judge has ordered that Gordon and Barbara Beal pay $10,000 to the town of Sackville to cover costs related to a court action over a zoning infraction at 131 Main Street.
The order to cover most of the town’s legal costs comes on top of expenses already being paid by the Beals for their tenants’ moving costs and any additional rent they have to pay after being forced to leave by court order, due to safety issues in the apartments. As CHMA reported earlier this week, the tenants, all Mount Allison students, have all found alternate accommodations.
Jamie Burke, CAO for the town of Sackville, says the town is, “thrilled with the outcome and cost award.”
At what was likely the final of three hearings on the matter on Wednesday, Judge Darrell Stephenson said he would give the Beals, “a slight amount of credit,” by not awarding full costs.
The town’s lawyer, Christopher Stewart of Stewart McKelvey, said his bill up to the end of Tuesday was already at $12,200, which means the town will also be on the hook for some costs as a result of the matter.
Burke said the remaining legal fees to be covered by the town are “part of the administration and enforcement of [Sackville’s] Zoning By-law.”
Before the award was made by the judge, Stewart pointed out that the zoning infraction was a “deliberate violation” by the Beals, as they had been issued a compliance order before their recent tenants moved in, back in August.
Judge Stephenson agreed, saying, “this whole unfortunate incident came about because [the Beals] completely disregarded the planning directions they were given from the town.”
“At the end of the day, they’ve got to bear substantial costs because of their conduct,” Stephenson said.
The judge asked that the costs be “memorialized” in an order to be written by the two lawyers involved: Stewart, and Ted Erhardt of Bingham Law, who represents the Beals.
The order will also include a schedule of renovations for the Beals to have completed at 131 Main. Those details were not shared in yesterday’s hearing, but had been agreed to previously by both lawyers. At an earlier hearing, Stewart had referred to the renovations required to ensure the Beals didn’t rent out the apartments again under current zoning.
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