At the end of November, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Robert Punnet handed down an award of $35,150 to Beth Gibson, the former mayor of Colwood, as a result of a dispute dating back to 2011 between Gibson, F.K. Developments, and a neighbour, Fritz Kruger (who was involved with the development the company developing the properties neighbouring on GibsonB次元官网网址檚 home).
The dispute centred upon Kruger taking it upon himself to remove the tops of mature Douglas fir trees on GibsonB次元官网网址檚 property, without permission, in order to improve the view for his own properties.
And as much as Gibson now wishes to put the entire unpleasant debacle behind her, the details of her particular case serve to raise questions about how often this sort of dispute arises and what can be done to restore peace when, as they did in GibsonB次元官网网址檚 case, circumstances and attitudes seem destined to spiral out of control.
Const. Matthew Baker of the West Shore RCMP maintains that dispute resolution is all about empathy.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 important not to dig your heels in and, instead, try to understand the other personB次元官网网址檚 position and what it is theyB次元官网网址檙e upset about,B次元官网网址� Baker said. B次元官网网址淲hen they get to the point where they wonB次元官网网址檛 talk to one another, thatB次元官网网址檚 when disputes start escalating. By the time one or the other starts calling the police, I would guess that everything else has failed.B次元官网网址�
Baker explained that he doesnB次元官网网址檛 see a lot of incidents where the police are called to get involved, and when they are, they generally find that there is no criminal cause for a complaint.
B次元官网网址淭hese are generally civil matters and more suited for mediation or legal action than calling the police,B次元官网网址� he said.
Susan Belford, administrative director of the Colwood non-profit group, Dialogue and Mediation Services, agreed that most of the cases they see stem from people being unwilling to communicate.
B次元官网网址淎s human beings we tend to want to believe that weB次元官网网址檙e right. We look at things from our own perspective, often losing sight of the fact that the other party has their own perspective and equally believe that they are in the right,B次元官网网址� Belford said.
B次元官网网址淢ost often youB次元官网网址檒l find that both parties want the same thing and, if you can get them talking, theyB次元官网网址檒l find a way to find a middle ground but the key is the willingness to negotiate. Finding a solution through mediation can only happen if there is a willingness to voluntarily work with the other party.B次元官网网址�
Sometimes disputes result from issues that have nothing to do with the stated point of dispute, according to City of Colwood bylaw officer Paul Lambert.
Lambert has been in his position for 10 years, having come from the UK and Australia where he worked as a police constable.
B次元官网网址淚 find that weB次元官网网址檒l get a call and find that thereB次元官网网址檚 really something else going on that has nothing to do with the issue they call about. Maybe theyB次元官网网址檙e upset about the fact that a neighbour has a trailer in the driveway and, since that isnB次元官网网址檛 illegal, they focus on whether a fence is slightly encroaching on a property line,B次元官网网址� Lambert said.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檝e seen people lose their minds over six inches of property and spend thousands of dollar litigating an issue that could have been resolved with some reasonable conversation.B次元官网网址�
But sometimes, said Lambert, neighbours have legitimate concerns and part of his job is to explain the problem to the offending party.
B次元官网网址淚 remember getting a call about a powerful stench coming from a property. I arrived to find a gentleman in the backyard, incinerating dead rats (heB次元官网网址檇 trapped) and the smell was horrendousB次元官网网址o much so that he was stark naked, not wanting to get the smell of the burning rats on his clothing,B次元官网网址� recalled Lambert with a chuckle.
B次元官网网址淲ith all of that, he seemed genuinely surprised that the neighbours had complained.B次元官网网址�
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