Erosion caused by Bear Creek has caused the back of this Wedgewood property to slide and collapse. (Photo courtesy of the Wedgewood Hamlet Homeowners Association)

By Liam Verster

Wedgewood property issues

County investigating their responsibility in Wedgewood’s sliding slope

May 12, 2020 | 1:28 PM

Three home owners in Wedgewood have been faced with an issue for the past several years, as the back of their properties have been sliding down the slope, which Bear Creek has eroded, causing concern for their safety and the properties’ value.

At Monday’s County Council meeting, the Wedgewood Hamlet Homeowners Association approached council asking for support, and presented two options they would like to see the County consider. The first being compensating the owners so they can move off the property, then remediating the slope and turning it into a green space. The second is remediating the slope and trying to save the homes.

Both those suggestions are based off a survey by engineering firm SNC Lavalin, which the County commissioned in 2017. The study had come back to show that a lot of money needed to be spent just to investigate the options before they could actually determine whether it was possible to remediate the slope, and at the time couldn’t tell if those efforts would end up being successful in the long term.

After the survey was done in 2017, County Council determined they had no legal responsibility to do the remediation work on private lands.

Following Monday’s presentation, County Council directed Administration to investigate the proposed options, and come back with cost estimates for the work.

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However, the County may still not be legally responsible for these properties, or the current situation they are facing. Reeve Leanne Beaupre says the properties were zoned in 1993 following a slope stability study.

“[The study] talks about instruments that are registered on those three lots, it talks specifically about building locations and covenants around making sure water goes to the front of the property off eaves troughs. No swimming pools, no underground sprinklers. A lot of that’s based on the outcomes that they’ve had on the geophysical study that had been done.”

She says those regulations would have been registered on the property and land titles, and the County would have enforced them during the building. However, it wasn’t until 2012 that the slope’s erosion caused enough concern for the property owners, and Beaupre says because there were no complaints until then, it may have passed the Statute of Limitations on the municipality’s legal responsibilities.

After the presentation was made by the Homeowners Association, Council made a motion to have Administration find any other pertinent documents and paperwork that support either the homeowner’s or the County’s legal obligations in the matter.

Beaupre adds that the private residences back onto Bear Creek, which is the responsibility of the Province, and then onto more private land. She says the homeowners may need to approach the Ministry of Environment and Parks, as they may be more responsible for the damage caused by erosion, and could provide more help to the owners. They should also bring their concerns up with their local MLA.

Beaupre adds that the County is empathetic to the ratepayers, and they will try to help as much as possible. However, she does add that this is private land, and should be the responsibility of the owners.

“[The property owners] need to be part of the solution, and not just be asking for the County to take 100 per cent of the responsibility.”

The Homeowners Association has requested that the County come to a conclusion by June 29, 2020, though if Administration finds they need to have more studies done, then Council may ask for an extended time line.

The Wedgewood Hamlet Homeowners Association has not yet responded to a request for comment.