After waiting weeks to receive post-blast inspection reports from the developer behind Trail Bay Estates (TBE), a small group of frustrated residents living near the development say they're on the brink of taking legal action.
"We want to follow due process," said resident Kim King. "We're giving [Trail Bay Estates] the chance to come forth and do good, but we'll decide within the next little while whether to proceed with a lawsuit."
King and her husband Glyn Rose are still waiting for their report after their home was inspected 10 weeks ago. About half a dozen residents living near the phase one area of the development (by Barnacle Street) are facing a similar delay in receiving the document that establishes who, if anyone, is liable over the damage to their homes. Most say they're prepared to join King's civil case.
Blasting consultant Scott Parker, hired by TBE at the District's request, said the reports will determine on a house-by-house basis whether damage was caused by blasting at the residential development in Sechelt. Section 10(b) of the District's blasting bylaw calls for the post-blast surveys to be completed and distributed to homeowners "without delay," but Parker said many factors aside from blasting come into play.
"It's a fairly long and protracted process, due to the impact of major storms in late 2006," he said, adding a 100 kilometre per hour wind can have about the same force as a typical blast's shockwave. Parker said he's been through data from about 750 individual blasts dating from September 2006 until November 2007, when blasting in phase one ended.
"When the wind blows hard, it can actually put more force on the house than blasting does," agreed TBE president Bruce Morris, adding blast reports could be completed on Thursday, shortly after Coast Reporter's press deadline.
King said the District told her the reports would be ready by early April. In the meantime, she said she's spoken with a lawyer, and would likely include TBE and the District of Sechelt in the civil suit. While refusing to get into details, King said she would seek "damages repaired, plus additional items."
Parker said he's been compiling the reports since March 21, but has faced delays in obtaining records from various blasting contractors who'd worked on site, as well as from the District itself. Parker said he was unable to recover records TBE had turned over to WorkSafe B.C. for their site investigation until three weeks ago.
To further complicate matters, Parker's own company, Explosives and Rockwork Technologies (ExRT), is the subject of legal action from the District. In a separate civil case in February, blasting contractor Rock Construction and Mining Inc. (RCMI) agreed to pay the District a fine of $5,025 after admitting liability in violating the District's blasting bylaw during an explosion in early November. RCMI had previously sent a rock through a resident's roof, an incident Parker said he had recommended being remedied immediately.
"Now I'm being taken to court, on matters which I know nothing about," said Parker. "We've listened to a lot of people's opinions and with the District taking legal action, it detracts from the situation."
Site preparation work at TBE is now being done at phase one-B, near Chatelech Secondary School, Morris said. The developer has begun construction on two homes, but in most cases, homes will be built by individual lot owners, he explained.
Whether or not TBE is found liable in each case, Parker said some residents may be able to get reimbursed through home insurance policies based on the results of each report.
"If damage has occurred, and we can find the root causes, these people should be reimbursed," said Parker. "Whether contractors are guilty or innocent, to me, is irrelevant."
