The Seawatch Sinkhole Saga: A Community's Nightmare Unfolds

Imagine, if you will, purchasing your dream home in a tranquil coastal community, a place called Seawatch, nestled in British Columbia's beautiful Sunshine Coast. It sounds idyllic, doesn't it? But for residents of this particular Sechelt subdivision, that dream quickly morphed into a harrowing, years-long nightmare, one where the very ground beneath their feet, quite literally, began to give way.

This isn't just a story about land collapsing; it’s a deeply human saga of shattered lives, legal battles, and a profound sense of betrayal. The Seawatch subdivision, initially approved back in 2006, came with a restrictive covenant – a detail that, in hindsight, seems almost prophetic, aiming to clear the District of liability and inform future buyers of certain conditions. Little did anyone know just how significant those 'conditions' would become.

The first ominous rumble came in June 2012, when a sinkhole yawned open on Seawatch Lane. A warning sign, perhaps, but one that didn't fully prepare anyone for what lay ahead. Then, on Christmas Day of 2018, of all days, a truly massive sinkhole, a staggering 12 meters deep, tore through the area. Suddenly, the geological instability wasn't just a concern; it was an undeniable, terrifying reality.

An engineering report by Thurber Engineering Ltd., delivered in February 2019, painted a grim picture. It recommended nothing less than a precautionary closure of the entire neighborhood due to the serious, undeniable risks. And just like that, lives were irrevocably altered. An evacuation alert went out on February 7th, 2019, followed swiftly by a full evacuation order a week later, on February 15th. Residents of 14 homes within the 28-lot subdivision were told, effectively, to leave everything behind. Can you imagine the shock? The scramble?

To cope with the immediate crisis, a State of Local Emergency (SOLE) was declared. Initially for seven days, it was extended, and extended again. And again. For a truly unbelievable 156 weeks – nearly three whole years – the residents lived in a perpetual state of limbo, their homes fenced off, inaccessible, and their future hanging precariously. Chris Moradian, one of the affected residents, summed up the collective sentiment perfectly: "confusion, state of shock, betrayal." Their life savings, often tied up in these properties, became "virtually worthless."

But the story doesn't end with evacuation; it escalates into a fierce legal battle. Property owners, notably Gregory and Geraldine Latham along with Carole Rosewall, decided enough was enough and took the Province of British Columbia to court. They sought accountability and, importantly, compensation for the profound disruption and financial ruin they faced. Justice Geoffrey Gomery of the B.C. Supreme Court heard their plea.

And then came a bombshell ruling on January 10, 2022. Justice Gomery declared that the continuous, seemingly endless renewal of the SOLE had been "unlawful" since May 2019. He didn't mince words, calling it an "excuse for inaction" by both the district and the province. The court ordered the province to compensate the Latham and Rosewall families, a sum approaching $200,000 for accommodation and expenses, a small but significant victory in a much larger fight.

Following this damning ruling, the province declined to extend the SOLE further, bringing it to an end around February 14, 2022, after almost three agonizing years. However, this wasn't a resolution. While the immediate emergency declaration ceased, the underlying geotechnical instability remained, and the vital question of decommissioning the subdivision still hung in the air, unanswered. Adding insult to injury, reports of looting and damage within the fenced-off, abandoned homes began to surface – a heartbreaking postscript to an already tragic situation.

Financially, the situation is equally grim. By July 2015, the District of Sechelt had already poured over $680,000 into studies. A report from that same month estimated that remedial action would cost an eye-watering $10 million, a sum the municipality ultimately did not pursue. The costs of inaction, you see, have proven far greater. As of early 2022, the legal wrangling continued, with property owners seeking to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada, while the province, in turn, appealed the B.C. Supreme Court's decision. It's a complex, drawn-out saga, where the land keeps shifting, and the hope for closure remains just out of reach.