A group of residents living on 12th Avenue NE are concerned that a homebuilder is not following Town of Sundre codes.
Lori Lunde, one of the residents, says she has concerns with grade slips and a lack of weeping tile and sump pumps.
The house on the end of the street is built on higher land, which causes a slope and pooling water for neighbours.
“All our lawns are level, you could run a lawn mower straight across the whole block, until you come to that new house and it's two to three feet higher,” said Lunde, adding that the homes are built by Legacy Homes.
She questioned how the builder was able to build the house on a slope and if the builder had a grade slip.
“Building grade slips are frequently referred to by the towns' development department, however, no one, including the building inspectors, appear to know what a building grade slip is,” Lunde expressed in a letter to Doug Wright, the town's interim chief administrative officer.
She told the Round Up that a year and a half after moving into her home, she noticed problems with the water table.
“I noticed there was a high water table which concerned me because I also knew there was no weeping tile or sump pump,” she said, noting that she moved into her home in December of 2009.
“I planted quite a few trees in spring of 2010 and in spring 2011, three of them had died, so when I dug them up to replace them, the holes were filling with water. That's when I thought ‘oh my god, we don't have weeping tile or sump pumps',” she said.
“So now when it rains, the four of us on this block are paranoid. We're always going down into our basements. If I start getting water in my basement, who's responsible for it? It will be me, because the town's not dealing with it, the building inspector's not dealing with it and the builder, well you can't speak to him about nothing, so we're frustrated.”
Cindy Thompson moved in next door in June and it wasn't long before she started discussing issues about her home with Lunde. A group of neighbours came together and spoke before Sundre council on Oct. 15.
Four people were at the meeting and asked council if there was anything the town could do to help.
Wright said all the town can do is write a letter saying they are displeased with the homebuilder and will check to see if codes are met.
“If he's meeting code, there is nothing we can do,” said Wright.
“How are these builders getting away with some of this stuff? Obviously no one is watching,” said Lunde at the meeting.
In the letter to Wright, she explained that the house numbers 122, 124, 126 and 128 on the block don't have weeping tile and sump pumps.
“My concern regarding the high water table and lack of weeping tile and sump pump was brought forth to the town one and a half years after purchasing my home. I was told ‘according to the grade slip, these were required and I should contact the builder to have these installed',” she explained.
This is the reason she felt it was necessary to discuss the issue with town council this time around.
“In the north Sundre development, there appears to be many violations by both the builders and the developer, which we were not aware of at the time of purchasing our homes,” she said. “Had we known of the violations and non-compliance as set forth in the meeting, it is highly unlikely any of us would have purchased homes here.”
“The builders seem to be turned loose. They're not following any of the rules and regulations.”
