VANCOUVER

Court orders woman to vacate home that's blocking $198M highway project

CTV News Vancouver Published Tuesday, May 21, 2019 1:35PM PDT

Juanna Hanlon speaks to reporters outside court, where she fought an injunction from the District of North Vancouver for more time clearing out her home, on May 17, 2019.

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The District of North Vancouver has been granted an injunction against a local senior whose former home is standing in the way of a $198 million highway project.

A district spokesperson told CTV News the court ruled against Juanna Hanlon on Tuesday morning, giving her until May 31 to vacate the property at 750 Forsman Ave.

That's two months after the original March 31 deadline Hanlon was given when the district expropriated her home for more than $2 million in November.

The house is the last one sitting in the path of the Lower Lynn Interchange Project, which is designed to improve the flow of traffic on the North Shore. The district has said it's desperate to get the project back on track, and previously offered Hanlon money for a hotel stay and temporary storage fees to get her to leave.

Tuesday's court decision included an order for the district to pay Hanlon $1,400 for one week's accommodation.

Hanlon pleaded for more time, claiming she needed several more months to clear out her belongings and find somewhere else to live.

"It's not that I haven't been trying to get out," Hanlon told CTV News last week. "I really do not know what physical time it's going to take to be out completely."

But the district's lawyer, Paul Hildebrand, said Hanlon isn't facing any financial hardship that would slow down the process, noting that she owns five properties across the province.

On Friday, Hildebrand described her as "essentially a trespasser or squatter."

The district said it first notified Hanlon it needed her property in April 2018. It expropriated the property after the two parties failed to negotiate a voluntary sale.

Hanlon has argued she was underpaid, and that the property is worth more than $3 million, but Hildebrand said the district actually paid "in excess of the home's market value, which was determined by a professional third party appraiser."

The district said the Lower Lynn Interchange Project will improve the commutes of thousands of people every day, and that delays pose a potential financial cost to taxpayers.