Every time it rains Larry Allan's Three Rivers Estates mobile home sinks a little more - and in Squamish it usually rains more than 150 days a year.
Allan has owned his home in the North Yards park for 11 years, and he's been dealing with flooding issues since Binnie and Associates built the neighbouring Arbour Woods development was built seven years ago with a foundation six feet above the park's.
"People seem to think this is just a trailer park so who cares? But it's my home and when I moved here years ago it was absolutely beautiful," he said.
The 81-year-old retired professional ski jumper said he warned builders and District of Squamish and Binnie and Associates staff of the potential for flooding during a public meeting on the development.
"I said 'If you're raising that ground five or six feet above flood plain, you're going to flood us out' and they said 'No, no, no there's going to be a trench or something going right down across the back of our places and hooking up to the municipal storm sewer system.'"
Seven years later neither a trench nor a drainage pipe has materialized despite flooding problems that worsen every year.
"Even when there's been no rain for weeks, the ground is soggy and the back end of my foundation is sinking," he said, adding his shed has sunk so far the door will barely open.
Allan said he knows there are ways he can divert the flooding.
"Of course I could just go get a ton of dirt, spread it out behind my condo and flood out my neighbours even worse."
But, he said, that would be unneighbourly.
Allan said he's been to Municipal Hall numerous times - three times in the last year alone - and he's gotten no response.
"I blame the municipality for not following up on it," he said. "They let these wheeler-dealers get away with murder."
District of Squamish engineering manager Brian Barnett said he hasn't heard from Allan directly or via messages, and there's nothing the municipality can do because drainage wasn't in the development's servicing agreement.
Servicing agreements can only be imposed on municipally owned portions of developments, such as roads and right of ways.
"There's no right of way running between the two properties," said Barnett. "So even if Arbour Woods promised Three Rivers Estates to get the drainage work done, we don't have any legislated ability to go on their property and do the work for them, nor can we legally compel then to do it at any specific time."
Binnie and Associates Squamish division manager James Martens said although he's never been to Arbour Woods, the development's engineering drawings include a ditch, and as far he knows, that's been completed.
"District staff reviewed it and approved the development the way it was designed," said Martens.
The situation thus becomes a civil matter between Binnie and Associates and the Three Rivers Estates property owner Harold Leed.
According to Allan, Leed's son John said Arbour Woods representatives have promised to build the necessary drainage. But as the years go by with no evidence of change, Allan is reaching his wits' end.
"I'm sick of this s**t - I'm 81 years old and I shouldn't need to deal with this," he said.
John Leed said he's just as frustrated. He said he also remembers the promises of drainage made before the development was built, but nothing was agreed to in writing.
Since then, numerous meetings with the district and the developer have led nowhere, he said.
"The developer says 'It's on your land and you should worry about your own property and make sure that it drains,' so now I'm caught. Without spending a bunch of money for legal action and lawyers I don't get anything," said Leed.
Martens said the responsibility does not fall on the development's shoulders.
"My understanding is that historically there has always been standing water on the Three Rivers site even before the development," said Martens.
But Leed said he doesn't think it should be up to him to pay for the infrastructure.
"Since that new development's come in they've put about five or six feet of fill in there and of course all the water is sitting in our property - should I pay for that?" said Leed.
Leed feels his small mobile home park is not a priority for the municipality.
"With progress they want everything redeveloped," he said. "They just don't care about the small guy."
