The Town of Gibsons has given notice to property owners on Skyline Drive to remove a rock retaining wall because of safety concerns.
At a special council meeting Tuesday, councillors were informed of the situation by administrator Bill Beamish.
According to Beamish, during the week of Jan. 23 to 27, work was done on the Skyline Drive property to blast and clear an access and building for construction of a house.
"No permits were applied for or issued by the town for this work," said Beamish in his report to council. "The majority of the unsafe structure is constructed within the Town Road [right-of-way] and concern has been expressed by Greg Foss, supervisor of public works, for the condition of both water and sewer services that have been covered by blast rock and debris."
Beamish added that when inspection of the property and retaining structure was done by town staff on Jan. 30, it was determined that the structure may not have been safely constructed and that it poses an unacceptable risk to nearby residences and traffic on Skyline Drive.
Mike Eivemark, engineer with Geotactics Engineering Ltd., also viewed the sight and concluded "that the stacked rock retaining wall, as it has been constructed, does pose a risk of collapse and resulting damage to persons and property downslope from a retaining wall."
In his report to the town, Eivemark recommends that the timeframe for removal of the present retaining wall is one month.
The property owners, Chris and Pam Morgan, live in Alberta. They have been contacted by the town and said they are prepared to do whatever is necessary to rectify the situation.
Local contractor Tony Wong was in the gallery at Tuesday's meeting. He also pledged to council to do what is needed to make the structure safe.
Mayor Barry Janyk was not pleased when he learned of the situation and expressed that displeasure Tuesday.
"In addition to the work being done improperly, there are no permits and there has been a trespass onto town property," Janyk said. "I think we need to look for some compensation and action against these owners to send a message to others so this won't happen again."
