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Creating Communities how Big Chain Stores ruin neighborhoods The rip off condo owners face -

  • wecare994
  • Sep 12, 2024
  • 4 min read


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The neighborhood where we live is changing and Condo Boards in the area need to start getting actively involved in their neighborhoods. The London Drugs moved out and was replaced with a Dollarama and then Urban Fare grocery stored changed into a Save on Foods in less than a year. The Urban Fare while ridiculously expensive at least provided organic items and specialty items and had great quality chicken and beef which of course drove local organic stores out of business so there's that. At first one thinks ok, great maybe we needed a cheaper store but the Save On Foods while it does seem to provide cheaper items they bring in a lot of cases and bulk items and don’t understand how many people shop in this area with a cart so case items are not as practical for many to buy. Earlier this week, I had to run to the post office so I was in Shoppers Drug mart and grabbed a package of chicken breasts which are the same price as what Save on Foods sells. Well, the same price but not even close to the same quality, who knew Shoppers Drug Mart would have a better quality of meat than Save On Foods. A similar three/four pack of chicken breast at Save on Foods which were literally one breast of the Shoppers chicken cut into three and I paid the same price for it! So now I know how Save On Foods can charge less than other stores, they conserve. Some things are cheaper at Save On Foods and some aren’t but the change in quality of the store is what concerns me. We used to be a neighborhood that had Urban Fare and West Elm and now we have Save On Foods and Dollarama. What does that say about the neighborhood? It tells me the property values are decreasing and if the neighborhood hadn’t already been changing it is now on the down turn with the help of Dollarama. Typically neighborhoods close to downtown are eclectic made up of all different types of people and socioeconomic backgrounds that’s why we all live here we love the diversity and walking neighborhoods. The Calgary beltline is the hub of the city it’s not only a great place to live because it’s convenient to downtown … but it’s suffering and needs some help.


There is plenty of evidence to support the downturn neighborhoods face when chain stores start putting down roots. Dollar stores negatively affect the neighborhood. The Institute for Local Self Reliance cites a Clemson University study that found property values could drop by 16-21% when a dollar store is nearby. The impact is so significant in communities with high concentrations of low and fixed income residents because the crime rate soars. From our own experience in the beltline the differences in the area where London Drugs once was compared to the Dollarama are significant. The amount of homeless people and drug addicts now wandering around the area have increased significantly and this is due in large part to the new Dollarama, it has negatively impacted the neighborhood.

We have a commercial part of the building and in some instances the commercial owner can assist owners in dealing with boards and property managers but when they make decisions that negatively impact the building in such a way there needs to be a mechanism for change.  When the commercial owner chooses to bring in a Dollarama into the neighborhood without the consent of the other owners in the building the commercial owner has single handily reduced our property values and increased crime.  When London Drugs moved out the board decreased the security for some reason which was a bad move on their part because it was always needed. Now the building should have an onsite security guard but who should pay for that cost? The commercial owner to protect us from their renter? If the owners had been given the option to vote on the type of businesses and our board was experienced enough to do some research on the effects of dollar stores the neighborhood might look differently and our condo fees and property values may not have suffered the same blow.  


It's not only important for board members to join local neighborhood organizations to try and combat these types of chain stores it’s probably prudent for owners to start enacting bylaws or ensure they are included during the formation of the corporation. The bylaws should include specific bylaws for the commercial owners. An extraordinary resolution should have been approved by all owners in the building.  Just wait, I can hear the cries now,  it can be done in a way that doesn’t hold up or cause issues with the commercial owner. The bylaws can automatically allow for certain businesses like London Drugs or Best Buy or any other types of businesses that don’t negatively impact a community but approval should be required when there are businesses that clearly affect the building in a negative way. There has always been a certain level of crime in the neighborhood it’s expected living so close to downtown but the crime rate in the beltline is higher than the downtown core with 49, 727 events last year compared to the core which only had 38,919 events. The area couldn’t really handle another entity that alters the community in such a way. The beltline didn’t really need the Dollarama to invite more crime, loitering and whatever else comes with dollar stores. The boards of these buildings need to start enacting bylaws to help maintain their communities and control of their buildings and we need to start now.

 

Here are some links:



 
 
 

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Meetings and Events

Condo Buildings have many different types of meetings -AGMs, Special Meetings and  Extraordinary Meetings, Owners Meetings -    See below on tips for making your meeting inclusive and productive 

​Annual General Meetings are crucial to democracy, a condominium corporation in Alberta is required to have annual general meetings every year and at the latest 15 months from the last AGM. These are formal meetings where owners vote on all types of business such as new bylaws, bylaw changes, financial considerations, improvements, upgrades and elect a new board of directors. There are certain procedural rules boards must follow when organizing an AGM; notice must be provided 60 days prior to the AGM, this gives owners the ability to submit agenda items to the board. After the 60 days, formal notice with the agenda items must be sent to owners within 30-14 days prior to the meeting date. Make sure you are voting at your AGMs, you need to make sure the votes are counted - make sure your board is either holding elections through ballots or a counted hand vote. 

There are several types of other meetings a condo corporation holds - Special Meetings, Owners Meetings or Town Halls. It all depends on who is doing the organizing and the topics being put forward. Condo Owners should ensure that their meetings have at least the basic requirements for example: With the exception of Owners Meetings which are called by the owners and not formal, all meetings should include, if possible: scrutineers, agenda- ability of owners to add to agenda, accurate and properly recorded minutes, elections, voting - owners should be voting on issues at AGMs to name a few. There are many requirements to hold a duly organized meeting. For example, public companies and other corporations hire several entities when they hold AGMs. Most corporations start by hiring a law firm. a company to scrutineer and often depending on the type of meeting a solicitation agent. Unfortunately, and of course because it's impractical for the majority of Condo Corporations to assume the expense of all or even a few of those entities most Condo Corporations rely on the knowledge of the property manager and an inexperienced board to deal with meetings which affects the quality of the meetings.

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​The quality of condo meetings depend on the quality of the property manager and the knowledge of your board of directors. Most condo meetings are pretty poor which leads to very little advancement and improvements in the corporation. If your condo corporation holds proper meetings then thank goodness and let us know! We want to hear about condos that are working well together creating successful condo communities. If not then well we all know when buildings incur this type of combination of a poor manager and a poor board for too long the building starts to deteriorate very quickly. Most building come equipped with basic bylaws created by the developer included in the owners manual, some specs and basic information and little else so if you were unlucky to buy into a property with owners who knew very little about condo boards you are probably facing some difficulties after a number of years.  Call us anytime and we will audit your meetings, elections or if you assist in coordinating any type of meeting. See our simple suggestions for make your meetings even more successful. 

condo meeting

Everyone is happier with a cookie in their hand

condo meeting - AGM

                                 Make people feel welcome!         

                           

Meetings are stressful even if there are no hot topics so anything you can do to lighten the mood is helpful. You could also have a giveaway or a play a little game before you get started. Don't forget name tags for large gatherings, bring a card or provide contact information and don't forget a pen, notepad or your phone to take notes and exchange information.  

If you organized the meeting: don't forget to shake as many peoples hands and introduce yourself to as many people as you can!

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Hint: If you are organizing the meeting you should be the last to leave! This helps make sure you talk to everyone who came to talk to you!

                                             Its ALL in the Details

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We believe details are important! Set up a station with coffee, juice or water to keep people hydrated and bring along some home baked or store bought treats. Owners will feel welcome and it helps to set the tone of a meeting. Who can argue with a piece of cake in their hand or mouth! Meetings should be informative and engaging and setting the tone will make your meetings more successful.

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Hint: You'll often be able to tell the people who support you or at least like you if they take a cookie or drink some coffee. More combative individuals won't take the cookie because they feel like they would owe you something back and sometimes that's just being nice and respectful.

CONTACT US Before you buy a condo 

Working as a Trustee in the corporate debt space for over a decade has helped me build a foundation in Corporate and Securities Law. As a a Manager of Corporate Trust acting as debt Trustee, collateral agent or escrow agent, I was involved in many types of large international transaction and the biggest bought deal in Canadian history. As a trustee we were involved in, attended and scrutineered all types of meetings, extraordinary resolutions and consent solicitations. As Corporate Secretary for a large public company, I have over a decade of experience in many aspects of Corporate Law.  I worked for  several years in compliance for a capital raising investment company and worked in the prosecution department at IIROC. My degree in political science gives me a heightened sense of justice and expertise in all levels of government, democratic institutions and democratic practices.  I started this company to help other condo owners who were having similar experiences with condo boards. My corporate law and securities experience provides a great backdrop to be able to help create inclusive communities one building at a time, fighting one board at a time to bring back democracy and inclusion to Condo boards. People don't need to be fighting boards -it ruins their piece of mind and stunts community growth. Boards of Directors need to be held accountable for bad decisions and bad operating procedures and educated in best practices. 

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CONTACT
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Email: wecare@momentumcondo.com
Phone: 403.651.7403
 

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