The owner of a Langford property that has become home to a motorcycle clubhouse is trying to sell the site.
A $475,000 sale is pending on 2775 Spencer Rd., according to a real estate listing.
The Devils Army has allegedly opened its first clubhouse outside Campbell River at the Langford property.
A DTZ Victoria real estate agent representing the owners could not provide details about the sale, saying his client asked him not to comment.
The property is valued at $514,000 and has 1,456 square feet of office space, according to B.C. Assessment. Pacific Coast Land purchased the property in 2008 in a cash sale for $406,000.
Langford Mayor Stew Young said the offer to sell does not affect legal action the City of Langford has taken against the owner, Pacific Coast Land Co.
“We can’t go after anyone but the actual owner,” Young said.
The province’s anti-gang policing unit has called the Devils Army a “puppet club” of the Hells Angels, while the Hells Angels have denied any direct relationship.
More than 100 bikers showed up for the clubhouse’s opening on May 2, many sporting patches representing the Hells Angels and other clubs. Young said he has received “thousands” of complaints from residents about the clubhouse’s proximity to two schools, a daycare and a seniors’ trailer park — the most complaints of any issue in his mayoral career. “I’m getting a lot of heat and pressure at city hall,” he said.
Langford’s B.C. Supreme Court claim, filed May 1, calls on the owner and its tenants to stop using the space as a clubhouse, citing zoning and bylaw infringements.
Pacific Coast Land’s 2014 annual report lists Harald Skadberg as its president and Jan Egil Gulbrandsen as its secretary-treasurer.
Neither Skadberg nor Gulbrandsen could be reached for comment.
Campbell River Mayor Andy Adams said the Devils Army has not caused any major problems in its Campbell River neighbourhood, to his knowledge.
Council leaves criminal matters to the RCMP, he said, but receives perodic reports from police. “There has been minimal information for council and that’s a good thing.”
He described the neighbourhood as residential, and said neighbours have not made any major complaints.
Island District RCMP spokesman Darren Lagan would not say if any Devils Army members have been charged with criminal activity since the club formed around 2009. “The Campbell River RCMP actively monitor and investigate all individuals and groups alleged to be involved in criminal activity within their community, and take enforcement action when warranted,” Lagan said in an email.
