A Surrey man has been ordered to pay the City of Surrey nearly $900 to cover the costs associated with removing badminton lines he painted on a Surrey street during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lian Gong Tu’s neighbours provided a signed statement to the B.C. Civil Resolutions Tribunal stating that during the lockdown in April 2020, they began using the road, which is a cul-de-sac, as a pickleball court. The neighbours used chalk to paint the pickleball court but later used paint.
Tu later painted a badminton court next to it, the statement read.
The city provided an emailed statement from a witness with the initial EH, that stated they saw Tu paint the badminton court lines. They did not see who painted the pickleball court lines.
The city stated it cost $1,623.33 to remove the paint from the road.
Tu felt he, “is not responsible to reimburse Surrey for its claimed costs to remove the paint lines from the road because he is not the only person who painted the road and Surrey is not seeking payment from anyone else,” he stated.
Tribunal member Leah Volkers stated in the decision that the city did not provide a breakdown of costs to remove just the badminton court lines. Since Tu only painted one court, the tribunal decided that Tu was only ordered to pay around half the costs.
The B.C. Civil Resolutions Tribunal ruled in a decision posted on Monday (April 24) that Tu must pay the City of Surrey $878.14 to cover the costs the city incurred when removing the paint.
anna.burns@surreynowleader.com
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