Strata ordered to build hillside tram for disabled senior living in B.C. seaside community

Owners in a North Vancouver strata have been ordered to pay an elderly disabled resident $35,000 for discrimination after they refused his request to build an elevator tram so he could leave his home.

Gerald Testar, 84, has multiple disabilities that make any sort of exercise challenging, according to a recent decision from the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal.

He and his wife live in a detached home at the bottom of a steep hillside in Deep Cove, and must climb 102 steps in total to reach the parking lot at the top, a feat that Testar's doctor described as "next to impossible" in a letter to the strata council.

As a result, Testar hasn't left the house in more than two years, but his strata has refused his request for approval to build a hillside elevator tram, according to the tribunal.

In her decision last week, tribunal member Amber Prince found the strata council had discriminated against Testar on the basis of disability, and ordered the owners to "make all reasonable efforts" to approve and build the tram within the next six months.

Prince described Testar as "essentially a prisoner in his own home" because of the discrimination he's experienced.

"Every day that goes by, Mr. Testar is unable to leave his home and experience the outside world. He has lost the opportunity to visit his wife in the hospital, to visit friends, go shopping, participate in other community events, and live as independently as he can," the decision says.

"His lack of access to the outside world makes him feel isolated and depressed. He is afraid of dying because of delays in receiving medical care."

Prince also ordered the strata to pay Testar $35,000 as compensation for injury to his dignity, feelings and self‐respect.

Strata 'ignored' concerns about approved alternative

According to the decision, Testar's disabilities include congestive heart failure, chronic atrial fibrillation, right leg weakness, severe chronic obstructive lung disease, osteoarthritis and arthritis in his knees and ankles.

The last time he tried using the stairs was in December 2019, when he fell and hurt himself after his knees gave out.

Testar had workers from Silverspan Trams Inc. visit the site and produce a quote of $131,639 to build a tram that would carry four people, but he needed approval from the owners of the three other homes in his bare land strata, the decision says.

Testar made his request in January 2020, but the strata denied it, instead approving a chairlift that would wind up the staircase. The owners argued that a tram would negatively affect their use of the stairs as well as the character of the property.

At one point, Testar's lawyer made a settlement offer that would see each owner in the strata pay a $17,500 special levy to fund construction of the tram, with the Testars covering the remaining costs, but the decision says there is no record of a response from the strata.

Prince agreed with Testar that there would be safety concerns with a chairlift being built on stairs that were already in disrepair; it would be slow and wouldn't be able to carry a stretcher in case of emergency and Testar's disabilities make it difficult to squat getting into or out of the chair.

"The strata found reasons to reject the tram, and ignored Mr. Testar's concerns about the chairlift when they went ahead and approved it," Prince wrote.

"No one should have to spend their golden years fighting with their strata to have their accommodation needs met."

Her decision states that the strata must contract Silverspan or a similar company to get all the necessary permits and approvals to build a tram as soon as possible.