Woman plans to sell home due to stress caused by town's expropriation

A Truro woman is planning to sell her beloved home of 35 years due to stress caused by the town's expropriation of part of her property.

Anne-Marie Westman says she first heard of the town's intent to take over part of her property in August, when she was contacted by an engineer who told her the town needed an easement in order to run a storm sewer line across her land.

She says she was asked to sign an agreement within two days that offered her one dollar in compensation.

She declined, and since then has been locked in a dispute with the town over the matter.

"That's when the stress started for me," she said. "And since that time, it's just been more and more stressful. Fighting is not my cup of tea, but what do you do when you're sort of forced in the corner?"

Project aims to alleviate flooding

The town wants to use a strip of land that runs between Westman's house on Clifton Court and her neighbour's to run an underground pipe to help alleviate flooding in the area.

Right now, the street behind Westman's house does not have a curb or catch basins to direct water when there's heavy rainfall, so the water flows down a hill and pools in her yard and those of some of her neighbours.

The town has expropriated part of Westman's property. (Paul Poirier/CBC)

Westman's own home, as well as other nearby homes, have flooded more than once in the past. The most recent flood last summer caused $28,000 worth of damage in Westman's basement.

The town's project would divert runoff to the pipe that would run along Westman's property to a stormwater pond on the opposite side of the street from her house.

But Westman is concerned any excavation needed to complete the project could damage her home because it would be too close to her foundation.

She says the space between the two houses, where the sewer line would run, is about nine metres. While the pipe itself would run roughly down the middle of that gap, the land the town expropriated comes as close as about a third of a metre from her foundation.

The homeowner has put her property on the market due to stress caused by the expropriation. (Paul Poirier/CBC)

Westman's partner, Ian Booth, who does not own the property but has been helping her deal with the expropriation issue, says both of them want a solution to the flooding, but they want a better solution than what the town has offered.

"We certainly are not trying to stand in the way of flood control," Booth said. "It's long past due and indeed I blame the engineering department of the town for how bad the flooding is here."

Ian Booth is Westman's partner and has been helping her deal with the expropriation process. (Paul Poirier/CBC)

Town of Truro CAO Michael Dolter says the project is necessary.

"We've had a huge outcry from residents … that have had flooding on their properties," he says. "There is no doubt we had to act for the good of the entire neighbourhood."

Dolter says there will be no major excavation in the yards. The pipe, which will be drilled, will be at least two to three metres from the houses. He says it's "highly, highly unlikely" that any damage to the foundations would occur.

Dolter says the town has done this type of work before and it's "never had an issue with something going awry." If something did go wrong, the town would take responsibility, he says.

Alternative proposal

Westman and Booth have come up with an alternative plan that would run the pipe through the other side of the property, much farther away from any building, in an area that is not being used.

They say they have had the plan evaluated by a retired engineer and an excavation expert, and both said their plan would control flooding better and protect houses from possible damage due to excavation.

Westman and Booth's preferred route would see the sewer line run across part of their property that is currently empty and far away from surrounding buildings. (Paul Poirier/CBC)

Dolter says Westman and Booth's plan was, in fact, the town's first choice, but they had to abandon it because the elevation and grade wouldn't allow the water to properly flow to the stormwater holding pond. In order to achieve the proper flow at that location, the pipe would have had to be above ground level.

Westman and Booth also say they were denied the opportunity to present their perspective to council.

They received word on Feb. 28 that town council was going to vote on March 3 whether to expropriate the strip of land.

When they asked to make a presentation to council to argue their case, they were told they had missed the deadline to request an opportunity to speak. That deadline was the day before they had even heard about the upcoming vote.

The vote passed, with just one councillor voting against the expropriation. 

Booth points to a map showing his preferred route for the sewer line in green and the town's planned route in red. (Paul Poirier/CBC)

The couple have, however, met with the mayor, deputy mayor and Dolter to outline their concerns and review their own proposal.

Westman says she plans to hire an independent civil engineer to assess her plan, and Booth says "our objection ends" if the engineer supports the town's position.

Dolter says the town is also going to hire a third-party engineer to assess the project, and that the homeowners will be allowed to speak with the engineer and view their report.

Next steps

Last week, the town increased its offer of compensation from one dollar to $15,150. Dolter says the one-dollar offer is a fairly standard starting point for negotiating easements. 

If Westman does not accept the new compensation offer, she can appeal it, sparking a hearing with the Nova Scotia Regulatory and Appeals Board — one of two boards created with the transition from the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board starting April 1.

Booth says the offer is "not even in the ballpark" of the value of the property, and does not adequately consider the reduction in value of the remaining land.

Westman says with her property on the market, she will disclose the expropriation issue to prospective buyers.

She doesn't want to sell, but says as a cancer survivor and as someone with a heart condition, the stress caused by the dispute is not worth the risk to her health.

"I have trouble sleeping. I have trouble eating at times because I'm so stressed," she says.

If Westman does not appeal the compensation offer, the town can begin work on the property early this summer.