A number of lot owners who purchased property in a development on the north end of town in 2006 have come together in an effort to somehow move the project forward.
Rick Sarsons, who purchased one of the lots in what was originally called Eagle Ridge Estates, says the newly-formed Eagle Ridge Lot Owners Association wants to move the stalled development ahead.
ìWe are going to try and move forward in the new year in some fashion as an organized group,î said Sarsons. ìTrying to find another developer may be one of the ways we can go.
ìA second way is to go to the provincial government and ask for ways to finish the development. We haven't delved into that yet, but that is one thing we are planning to look into.î
In 2006, about 40 lots were sold, some to individuals and some to numbered companies, in the development. Owners paid up to $110,000 per lot.
The original developer put in deep services, such as sewer and water, soon after the lots were sold.
However, when that original developer moved on, things came to a grinding halt. Now, six years later, the town has issued no building permits and no house construction has begun.
ìThe development has changed owners several times and none of them have lived up to their obligations,î he said.
The lot owners have been trying unsuccessfully to get in touch with the current developers, Sundre Estates, based in Calgary, he said.
The entire development area is within the Town of Sundre. The town's development permit on the property expired on March 31, 2011.
Two of the lots have been foreclosed on by the banks in the last six months.
In an effort to highlight the situation, Sarsons recent built a small shack on his lot, a small one-room building he calls his ìprotest cabinî.
ìI just want to get public awareness to see if the town will do something or anything. The bylaw officer visited us and requested that we stop building and then he went away and never came back,î he said.
The Town of Sundre has a vested interest in seeing the development move forward, he said.
ìI believe the town has the authority within their boundaries to take steps to make things happen. That's why we've approached them to give us their options of what they can do for us,î he said.
Mayor Annette Clews says the town has sought a legal opinion about the situation.
ìWe have not received that legal opinion back yet,î said Clews. ìWe are working on trying to find a resolution. However, at this time we don't have anything concrete. We are still working on it.î
