Colwood homeowners living ‘in a war zone,’ blame blasting
Neighbours seek action to protect houses; mayor says it’s not city’s responsibility
Colwood resident Sue Courey points to a crack in her livingroom wall that stretches up toward the ceiling.
It first appeared as a 20-centimetre vein in her Coleman Place home, after blasting began nearby one and a half years ago.
Since then, the crack has quadrupled in size.
She also points to window panes that have dropped a centimetre in their frames, jammed doors and a crack in her foundation. They’re evidence, she said, that continued rock blasting on nearby Latoria Road is damaging homes such as hers, which is only four years old.
“It’s like living in a war zone,” Courey said.
Courey is one of several neighbours calling for action to protect their homes.
They say blasting intensity increased between May and September this year and so has damage. The blasting is to clear rock for a subdivision.
The neighbours have approached the city, but were told it’s not the city’s responsibility to monitor work sites. They have approached both blasting companies — Tri-X Excavating and HHS Drilling and Blasting — and were told to contact their own insurance companies. They also filed a report with WorkSafe B.C.
They have begun the insurance-claim process, but say they fear longer-term effects, such as their insurance rates going up and housing prices going down.
“My husband is retiring in a few months and we had planned on selling this house next year. Now, in good conscience, we can’t do a thing,” Courey said.
Work stopped for about three weeks in October, but started again this week, she said.
Janice Rurka, who also lives on Coleman Place, pointed to a crack between panels in her solid-wood door, which now lets in sunlight and cool air. Her home is five years old.
“I don’t know where we go from here. We understand they need to blast. I don’t have a problem with that. But they need to do smaller blasts and spread them out,” Rurka said.
“My investment is falling apart. It’s extremely frustrating not getting any answers.”
Brian Baker of Tri-X Excavating said he was not available to talk about the site, when reached briefly by phone. The contact listed for HHS Drilling & Blasting did not return an interview request.
Colwood Mayor Carol Hamilton said it’s an unfortunate situation, but not the city’s responsibility.
“Yes, we have a permit process, but that’s to ensure the company has insurance and is notifying the neighbourhoods [about blasting periods].”
The only way to make a complaint, apart from going through insurance, is to contact the Workers Compensation Board if there are unsafe working conditions, she said.
Still, she said city staff are investigating whether the municipality can play a stronger role. This isn’t the first time a neighbourhood has complained about blasting — Triangle Mountain and Royal Bay are other examples, she said.
A staff report is due at a council meeting on Nov. 7.
In May 2015, an eight-kilogram rock crashed through Jorgia and Darryl Olsen’s nearby Pondside Terrace roof and landed on their bed.
Jorgia said last week that their home insurance covered the $13,000 in damage caused by the rock, and the excavating company also covered their deductible.
“But we’re still suffering over here, as well. We’re pretty sure that our foundation is cracked and our neighbour’s foundation is also cracked on the right side of us,” she said.
They also fear more rogue rocks coming their way.
“It’s still going on, it’s still unnerving. We’re at home and it’s been a constant worry for us.”