Things are looking up for Barbara Bell after she received a letter from the Safety Codes Council on July 15, which stated the retaining wall built behind her Hees Estates property was actually a decorative wall.
“Therefore it does not meet the safety code requirements, therefore the Town of Athabasca should not have ever issued the final occupancy permit or the compliance certificates stating the property was safe,” Bell said.
It is still unknown to Bell who built the wall, but she believes it was the previous owners.
“There were building permits issued, but they were approved sight-unseen, after the wall already failed,” she stated. “They never did come out and do a final inspection.”
Bell said she moved into the house on July 25, 2009. On August 23 the hill collapsed, and on September 9, the site was signed off on as meeting compliance with the safety code.
“(The letter) clearly states it was a decorative wall,” Bell said. “The safety code officer did not do his job with due diligence, and it states I bought it after the Town of Athabasca gave me the assurances that everything met code.”
Bell said the letter clearly states she had nothing to do with the wall, and therefore she should not be responsible for building a new one.
“It is not my responsibility,” Bell stated. “The town and the inspections group were wrong in issuing me the compliance certificate and if they want to go after Coventry Homes, or the previous owner, that’s their option.”
Bell was amazed that even after the letter from the Safety Codes Council was sent to town CAO Doug Topinka, the stop order for her to build the retaining wall was upheld.
Topinka stated the letter had been presented to council, and they decided to uphold the stop work order in spite of it.
Bell said the letter would go to court, and her damages are already well over a million dollars.
“I’ve had to rent. I’ve moved three times, and I bought a new house,” she said. “The town will finally end up doing the job they should have done in 2006 when they gave the development permit.”
According to Bell a geotechnical study still has to be done, and engineers have to be brought in.
“I’m not building the wall, so give me my court order now. Let’s go to court,” Bell said. “Let a judge decide. I highly doubt a judge is going to overturn the safety code’s decision, but if they (the town) think they can, bring it on.
“They tried to break me, but we’ve gone this far. Obviously they haven’t done it, and I am not going away.”
