After two months of pressing for resolution, strata neighbourhood left with new public road two to seven feet from back decks

By Steve Hubrecht

[email protected]

Fieldstone Glen residents came to Invermere council again last week, pleading for help with the road construction issue impacting their strata community and pressing council members for resolution.

The Fieldstone presentation came during the Tuesday, Nov. 23 Invermere council meeting, and was the fourth successive council meeting at which Fieldstone residents had made their case, ever since construction began in mid September. After nearly two months of such efforts by Fieldstone residents and with no change in the situation, it was impossible for the audience to miss the heightened tone and charged atmosphere at the last meeting, with visibly distraught Fieldstone residents at times choking back tears, literally waving an actual white flag (in mock surrender), and lambasting council and the district for not exercising due diligence prior to granting the development variance permit allowing the road to be built in the first place.

All to naught in the end: At least two councillors and Invermere chief administrative officer Andrew Young personally offered apologies, but they and other council and staff members said that efforts to shift the road further away from Fieldstone Glen had failed and an alternative location for the road was not financially feasible.

The source of Fieldstone residents’ frustration is a public right-of-way immediately east and south of their community which is being turned into a full fledged public road (15A Crescent). Fieldstone residents have known for two years that the road would be built as an access route for the new Highland Mews development, but when work on the road started earlier this fall, they were shocked to see that it was just seven feet to two feet (between two metres and half a metre) from some of their back decks. The residents beseeched council to negotiate with Highlands News and the neighbouring Heron Point development to move the road further east (closer to Heron Point and at least a few feet further away from the Fieldstone back decks). They then suggested that instead of turning the right-of-way into a public road, that the district allow Highland Mews developers to create an access road in a different spot, off of 7th Avenue. 

Resident’s frustration at the situation, and at the lack of communication from the district about its efforts at resolution, were evident during the Nov. 23 meeting.

“I feel our concerns are not being addressed…I feel the district did not do their due diligence before approval and we at Fieldstone Glen are paying the price,” said Fieldstone resident Linda Bradshaw. “Would any of you buy a home with only two to seven feet from your back deck to a public road? I don’t think so. And we had known, we wouldn’t have either.”

Fieldstone resident Judy Smith spoke next, waving a white flag as she did. “We give up,” began Smith noting the faulty decision to approve the road was council’s and “we (Fieldstone) are being steamrolled.” She noted the suggestions the residents have made “to no avail,” saying that they’ve “received only apathy and small appeasement gestures in response.” 

Construction continues to proceed in the meantime, said Smith. “Please just give us the courtesy of telling us you are not going to do anything…All we see you doing is nodding your heads each week and then passing it (the issue) off to staff, or to legal (counsel), or to engineers…yet all our (residents’) discussions with staff terminate with that the final say rests with council,” she said. “Is it that you want us to just go away and lick our wounds and live with the road? Just tell us…There has been no accountability for the original error that got us in this mess two years ago. We have no faith in the process anymore…We feel like we are in the movie Groundhog Day, with the same thing happening over and over again.”

“I do think some of your comments are inflammatory…that council lacks humanity,” protested councillor Gerry Taft.

Invermere chief administrative officer Andrew Young explained the negotiations between the district, Highland Mews and Heron Point had failed because “unfortunately at the last minute there were unreasonable demands made of the developer and as a consequence all of that good work (at negotiating a solution) evaporated” and that access off 7th Avenue isn’t feasible because it would entail moving existing sewer and water lines “that would be extremely expensive to relocate.”

Several Fieldstone residents said this was the first update they’d had on the negotiations or the alternative access proposal, and expressed frustration at not being kept informed.

“I’m sorry the circumstances are not what you would wish for. We certainly tried,” said Young. “I think we’ve done everything possible. I wish the news for you was better.”

Councillors Greg Anderson and Kayja Becker also personally apologized, with Anderson saying, “it’s going to leave a terrible situation…I’m sorry.”

Bradshaw asked if they were sorry enough to buy her house, and receiving no direct reply, let her arms slump down before she and other Fieldstone residents filed out of the community centre, some with tears in their eyes.