Tempers flared and frustrations were aired during a meeting between Terra Ridge residents and city officials on Wednesday evening, Oct. 4 in Williams Lake.
The meeting was held at the clubhouse to discuss the state of local emergency declared for all 80 units at Terra Ridge on Sept. 29.
Four of the units were also placed under evacuation order while the remaining units were placed on an evacuation alert.
About 60 residents filled the room, spilling out into the doorway, while city officials sat at the front to answer questions well into the night.
Strata council chair Brad Follack, who chaired the meeting, said residents were given very short notice about the evacuation alert and state of local emergency, and expressed the stress it caused the mostly-elderly population.
“It was very upsetting. We have people living here ages 55 to 103,” he said, adding a media release went out while residents were finding out about the evacuation alerts themselves.
Evan Dean, director of protective services, and the city’s chief administrative officer Gary Muraca both said they apologized for how the information was shared with the residents on Friday, but noted they had to move quickly to access provincial funding.
A geotechnical engineer and structural engineer are expected to be at Terra Ridge to begin an in-depth study on Thursday, Oct. 5, Muraca confirmed.
It was brought to light during the meeting that while four homes were deemed uninhabitable as many as 20 other homes in the development “require monitoring” due to the slide. Also, it was discussed how the strata had already spent $700,000 to shore up a failed retaining wall in recent years.
Muraca noted one study indicates the ground has moved a half a metre in the last two years in some areas of Terra Ridge.
The city’s manager of planning and development Gary Deane said the Hodgson slide was the largest of its kind in B.C.
Residents expressed frustration over the uncertainty of the situation, the potential loss of investment in their homes and questioned why the city would allow a development in an unstable area in the first place. Residents also questioned why potential development proposals are still being considering in the general area.
One resident also told city staff they had “lawyered up.”
Others asked if the city would explore the option of buying them out, citing an example where the city of Chilliwack did that. Homes in Terra Ridge range in size and price, however, if one were to average the homes out at $375,000 each, that cost would be around $30 million.
There were also instances shared where residents are having problems renewing their insurance, to which Muraca said he would be willing to look into.
MLA Lorne Doerkson appeared by video and encouraged everyone to write letters to the premier and minister of emergency management.
He said currently there is no funding for disasters of this nature on private property, or public property, and said more pressure on government is needed to assist people. He said the situation doesn’t fit the criteria for disaster relief funding because the situation isn’t something that occurred immediately, but rather over time.
Doerkson was criticized by a resident for granting an interview with television media where he suggested there was no value left in the homes due to the situation.
Want to read more local stories like this? Sign up for the Williams Lake Tribune’s newsletter right to your email. Consider purchasing a subscription to the Tribune to support local journalism for just .99 cents per week!