Groundbreaking took place last week, and the irony isn't lost on some of us in the neighbourhood that the home of a local florist and the former site of The Healthiest Home (purveyors of sustainable building supplies) have been razed to make way for eco-friendly condos.But my real concern with this project is Domicile's intention to include a no-smoking provision in the condo declaration that extends to the individual units. According to Domicile, sitting on the condo boards of their other projects has brought to their attention secondhand smoking complaints, and they feel that non-smoking buyers will appreciate this initiative.
While I myself applaud Domicile for addressing the concerns of secondhand smoke, even as a non-smoker I nonetheless find the scope of such a by-law just too intrusive for my own comfort, and wonder why this issue isn't being addressed through the building's mechanical and physical infrastructure. Will spicy cooking be targeted next?
My legal counsel agrees, but warns that after 30 plus years of practicing real estate law he is seeing this issue crop up more frequently and contends that the current mood of the courts would be to uphold such a declaration as being "reasonable".
Keeping in mind that such a regulation will not only apply to those buying into the project new, but those looking to buy a unit on the resale market, two words apply here: buyer beware.
