Dozens of people in a lakeside community near Pemberton have been warned to leave their properties because of a potential high risk of recurring landslides.
The Squamish Lillooet Regional District recently hand-delivered letters to homeowners in Lillooet Lake Estates, warning them to 鈥渆xercise their good judgment and vacate their dwellings, trailers or tents鈥� because the regional district believes the area 鈥渋s not a safe place.鈥�
The letters were delivered to all 152 lot owners, but are specifically aimed at the 54 lots 鈥� of which 34 have a dwelling unit 鈥� located within an 800-foot corridor surrounding Cataline Creek.
鈥淲e had a duty to warn them,鈥� said Lynda Flynn, chief administrative officer of the SLRD.
The letter is intended ensure that all site owners in Lillooet Lake Estates are aware of the serious life safety risks, following a massive slide last August that deposited between 10,000 and 25,000 cubic meters throughout the area. That landslide, which was triggered by a short but intense thunderstorm, was the third such slide to be recorded in the area in the past 10 years.
And it isn鈥檛 expected to be the last, according to a geotechnical report conducted last fall, which rated the return frequency of a landslide of a similar magnitude in any given year as high to very high, and warned that remediation efforts will not eliminate the risk in the future. The report noted recent climate change models project that B.C. will experience more frequent and severe rainstorm events and years with higher snowpacks at high elevations.
鈥淚f compared to existing hazard/risk standards 鈥� the landslide risk facing residences at Lillooet Lake Estates would likely be judged to be unacceptable,鈥� noted the report, conducted on behalf of the B.C. Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resources. 鈥淯nder existing conditions, it is judged that it is only a matter of time before there is a fatality at Lillooet Lake Estates.鈥�
Flynn said the SLRD has no idea how many people live permanently in the community and can鈥檛 force them to leave. But she noted the provincial government has also funded a 鈥渜uantitative landslide risk assessment鈥� of the Cataline Creek area, which will provide a better picture of the safety risks and mitigation options.
The situation is complicated by the fact that the subdivision, located about seven kilometres south of Highway 99 on the old Pemberton-Douglas Forest Service Road, is administered by a strata-type holding company called Lillooet Lake Estates Ltd.
The subdivision, which consists of two legal parcels, was created through a land-use contract with the Squamish Lillooet Regional District and the developer by a provincial order-in-council in the 1970s. The company is run by a board of directors, which is elected annually by means of a ward system and operated like a strata, according to the Lillooet Lake Estates Ltd. website. The lot owners effectively have shares in the company.
The regional district argues dwellings should not be allowed within the 800-foot corridor because, according to the geotechnical report, there is no proof that mitigation work was done on Cataline Creek before development occurred.
But Lillooet Lake Estates argued the regional district is misinterpreting the land-use contract, and questioned why it would issue building permits for the area up until a few years ago if the area wasn鈥檛 safe.
Gary Young, vice-president of Lillooet Lake Estates, acknowledges there are always risks living on a mountain but never thought it was any less safe than areas like Mosquito Creek in North 91原创.
鈥淲e鈥檙e pretty concerned about the whole thing,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e all bought in because we looked at the engineering report that said it鈥檚 pretty safe.鈥�
Young said about 40 lots are likely affected by the evacuation letter. He鈥檚 not sure what will happen to them if their lots are deemed too risky but expects the owners will be covered for any mitigation costs because the province created the subdivision.
鈥淚 can鈥檛 say we鈥檙e on solid ground 鈥� but I think we have a good case,鈥� he said.
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