Two residents of the Concordia Seawatch development have retained legal counsel and may sue over the sinkhole just steps from their front door.
The large sinkhole in Seawatch Lane has been left untouched for over a year now, save for the occasional filling of sand.
Michael Paddison and his wife Licia have little faith a permanent fix is on the way, despite last month's announcement that the District of Sechelt had reached an agreement with Concordia Seawatch Ltd.
That agreement said Concordia must remediate the sinkhole and associated spring that opened up on the site, and it concludes about a year's worth of argument over who's responsible for the fix. Still up in the air is exactly how to fix the problem, however.
Thousands of dollars spent on geotechnical studies by the District of Sechelt show the problem is complex and warrants more investigation.
Concordia is supposed to pay for that investigation and for engineering a permanent fix.
The Paddisons said they were shocked to read in Coast Reporter last month that Sechelt had settled the debate over who was responsible, thinking there was still discussion taking place between the two parties.
They said they feel the District should be on the hook to fix the road and ensure the residents' safety in the area, adding that settling in the roadway elsewhere is causing concern for future sinkholes.
Late last month the Paddisons had their lawyer contact the District.
"We took all the conditions that the District said they weren't responsible for and we said 'you are responsible for these things' and hopefully it goes no further," Michael said. "We have nothing to gain from a legal battle. We just want things fixed and we want to hold their feet to the fire until they do it."
Sechelt Mayor John Henderson said the ball is in Concordia Seawatch's court now, noting the sinkhole isn't the District's problem because they haven't taken ownership of the roads in the development yet.
He said Sechelt won't take ownership of the roads until the sinkhole is fixed and the top lift is put on them. He noted he was unsure if the cracks and dips the Paddisons have noticed along Seawatch Lane signal another sinkhole could be on the way.
"We don't know. But what I can say, if something else was to happen, at this point it would still be the developer's responsibility," Henderson said.
Ron Davis, owner of Concordia Seawatch, said he plans to fix the sinkhole "immediately" although he's currently building new homes on the waterfront while the sinkhole sits seemingly untouched.
"It is in the hands of Golder and Associates, which is the top geotechnical firm in Canada. They're currently in the design stages of the remediation," Davis said. "They're looking at controlling the water and then doing a permanent fix to the sinkhole."
Concordia has until the end of summer to fix the sinkhole and finish all remedial work on the site.
