District's demand for storm-drain connection would cost $300K and bankrupt us, homeowners say

A pair of Saanich homeowners says the district's requirement that all new homes connect to the municipal storm drain at the owner's expense is unreasonable and the year-long queue to apply to district council for an exception is threatening to ruin them financially.

Last summer, Michelle Gowing and her husband bought their dream house in Saanich, just blocks from where she grew up.

When they bought the home they knew they would have to do some renovations, but after discovering the foundation was cracked, they came to the conclusion their only option was to knock the old homedown and build a new one.

But the district requires new houses to connect to the municipal storm drain, and while the couple's home is in an urban part of town, all the homes on their street were built before the storm drain connection requirement meaning the Gowings would have to foot the bill to buildinfrastructure down the street to their property which could cost as much as$300,000.

"It's effectively bankrupting us," said Michelle Gowing. "After buying a house, I don't know anyone with those kinds of funds."

Gowing argues the district's bylaws allow for alternative storm drainage solutions, and in their application for a building permit, they proposed to build a rock pit drainage system.

No rock pits in urban neighbourhoods, says mayor

Saanich mayor Fred Haynes says while rock pits are used on some properties in Saanich, it's not an acceptable solution given the home's location.

"Where they are inside the urban containment boundary, and this particular house is, there is an interest from an engineering perspective to connect new homes to a storm drain," he said.

In an email, district staff wrote the storm drain connection requirement comes from engineering specifications in their subdivision bylaw and that it is the professional opinion of the director of engineering, "the proposed rock pit doesn't provide a connection to allow for overflow situations should the system not be maintained over time or if it was overwhelmed due to prolonged rainfall events."

Long wait could mean financial collapse

On June 22,Gowing applied for a development variance permit which will be considered by districtcouncil. But with a 12- to 18-month long queue it's not clear when their application will be heard, and all the while, the bills keep piling up.

"We had to get a mortgage to buy the house then go back and remortgage the house and then apply for a loan to afford a new build," said Gowing.

"On top of that, we now have to pay rent, because we couldn't move into our house and we didn't have a place to live."

Mayor Haynes says he is sympathetic to the Gowings'predicament and will consider their application seriously when it eventually makes it before council. Which is little comfort for Gowing, who worries by the time they get a resolution, their financial house may have already collapsed.