Hammonds Plains woman taking developer to court over flooding, property damage
Developer says they offered to fix issues but received no response
Tammy Broussard watches her dog wade through a pool of water in her backyard where she once mowed grass, steps away from a fire pit she no longer uses.
Broussard said the creation of a new seven-unit housing development next door has led to flooding and other damage on her Hammonds Plains, N.S., property, so she's taking the developer to small claims court.
"We've lost a lot because of this development," Broussard said in an interview. "We have nobody, nobody to advocate for us."
The issues started last summer, she said, when trees and a thick stand of bushes along the side of her front lawn were removed, revealing a view of the back decks on the new condos at 85 Pockwock Road.
Over the next few months, Broussard regularly contacted the Halifax Regional Municipality about issues she saw: the missing bushes, a gravel driveway the developer built on her land, as well as decks and awnings that encroached on the property line.
She said city staff eventually told the developer to shorten the decks and awnings, which they did. But Broussard said she wasn't happy with overall communication from the municipality.
Broussard said staff told her the issue was a civil one between neighbours, and she could also contact police. She made a complaint to RCMP in June, but the Mounties told CBC News the matter was a civil land dispute so the investigation was closed.
The biggest issue was flooding. Broussard said the developer raised the grade of their property and filled in a longstanding storm-water trench that ran behind both properties, creating a dam.
"We haven't been able to utilize our backyard for the better part of well, two summers," she said.
In April, Broussard said she had a meeting with two Halifax staff members and two of the development's contractors. They told her they planned to install a drainage system to handle water collecting along the property line between the buildings, and that she could choose what trees and shrubs would be replanted on her land to fix the damage.
Broussard said while the drainage system works well, it was placed under her property and she doesn't want the responsibility of maintaining it.
Just before historic flooding hit the province in July, she called the provincial Department of Environment and Climate Change to inspect her property.
The resulting report from environmental officer Anthony Heggelin said that on July 13, he saw water up over the fire pit area as well as debris like leaves and tree needles further up the lawn marking where previous flooding had reached.
Heggelin wrote that the waterway in the backyard was drainage, and the neighbouring property "appeared to have blocked/altered the drainage flow when they developed the property."'
Although Broussard said they offered to sell the developer the strip of land between their properties, they declined. So, Broussard said there was "no other avenue" but to file a lawsuit in small claims court for $25,000 to cover some of the damages.
"We're going to be hard pressed to find anybody who would even want to stay here to rent the place even, let alone buy it," Broussard said. "You know, your home and your property are your biggest assets."
Developer responds
Ontario-based Benmark Residential Investments is building the row of condos. Mark May and Benjamin May are listed as the company directors.
In a statement via their lawyer Will Brien of Cox and Palmer, Benmark said they have acted "in a respectful manner within the neighbourhood" and operated under the full oversight of HRM for the building and grading of the development.
Benmark acknowledged they inadvertently damaged "a small patch of grass and shrubbery" on Broussard's property, and allowed a short piece of pipe to be placed partially onto her land as part of the drainage system.
"Benmark has made several offers to remediate and fix this damage to ensure that the Broussard's property is fully repaired to its original state and that the Broussards are happy. In spite of our best efforts, through multiple channels, we have yet to have a reply to our offer from the Broussards," Benmark said.
Funds sent to Halifax as bond for work
The developer added they provided an "undertaking and bond" to the municipality to do remediation work on Broussard's property. According to Benmark's statement of defence, that meant depositing the "required funds" with Halifax staff to address Broussard's "genuine concerns."
The defence claim also said the municipality directed Benmark to change the historic cross-property water flow at the rear of 85 Pockwock Road down the property line with the Broussards' to a ditch on the main road.
They said that "misdirection from HRM" caused the pooling of water, but the Broussard property also has a "deep low area" at the rear that historically flooded. They also said they had never installed a driveway or culvert on the property.
When asked whether the municipality has issued any fines or warnings to Benmark, a spokesperson for HRM said the city "continues to work with the developer and cannot provide any specific comments with respect to this matter while that work is ongoing."
Brynn Budden, a spokesperson for the municipality, also wrote that it is not part of the small claims court case, and cannot comment on Benmark's point that Halifax directed them to change the original drainage direction.
Broussard's two-day court hearing with Benmark is set for December.
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