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When Jill Alcoe-Holland lifted the cover off her backyard pool in Coldbrook, N.S., earlier this year, she discovered so much muck that she immediately sent down her robotic pool cleaner.
It had its work cut out.
“For 15 days, every few hours, I was pulling up a robot full of sand,” she said.
The sand came from a 14-hectare sandpit in the middle of the quiet Annapolis Valley neighbourhood that will eventually be the site of a 30-home subdivision. The sand was dug up and is being shipped out in large dump trucks at all hours of the day, according to residents.
Sand blowing from the pit is going through their windows, covering their parked vehicles and front steps and, when it’s very windy, forcing them to leave their backyards and go inside, they say.
A robotic pool cleaner is filled with mud after operating in a pool in the backyard of a home in Coldbrook, N.S. (Submitted by Jill Alcoe-Holland)
Alcoe-Holland said her family made the mistake of opening all their windows and doors on one of the first warm days of the year.
“We came in for supper and we could write our name on our kitchen table because it was covered with sand,” Alcoe-Holland said.
‘Basically a sandstorm’
More than 60 residents in the neighbourhood have signed a petition calling on government officials to do something to mitigate the blowing sand and ensure the subdivision is built sooner than later.
The residents say they aren’t opposed to the new subdivision, but they cannot tolerate having sand everywhere anymore.
“Everybody’s kind of pissed off,” said Rick Young, whose home is directly next to the sandpit.
WATCH | Why did a developer build a huge sandpit in their backyard?:
Why this massive sandpit has neighbours ‘pissed off’
A large sandpit has formed in a quiet Nova Scotia neighbourhood while a subdivision is being built. But as the CBC’s Josh Hoffman reports, neighbours say sand is blowing everywhere, including into their pools, porches and kitchens.
Young said he and his wife can’t open the upstairs windows in their house without sand getting in.
He said he’s found sand built up on the windshields of their vehicles parked in the driveway.
“You didn’t dare turn your windshield wipers on. You’re scared you’ll scratch your windshield. There was that much sand,” Young said.
The front steps of Rick Young’s home, which is right next to the sandpit, are covered in sand that’s blown over from the subdivision development. (Rick Young)
David Grant also has to keep his windows closed at times because of the piles of sand that tower over the trees in his backyard.
He was doing yardwork this summer when the wind picked up and made him run for cover, he said.
“There was basically a sandstorm,” he said. “It was bad enough that it was bothering my breathing and I had to go inside.”
Grant said he and his wife have been considering selling their home, but they don’t know how long the sandpit will be here and believe it could reduce their property’s value.
No rules being broken
Subdivision development permits are the responsibility of municipal governments and open pits are regulated by the province.
But pits made as a result of subdivision development don’t need permits, according to a spokesperson for the Department of Environment and Climate Change.
Department staff have visited the site several times and the work is compliant with provincial regulations, the spokesperson said in an email.
Residents are also upset about large dump trucks carrying sand out of the neighbourhood at all hours of the day. (Jeorge Sadi/CBC)
A site development manager with Lutz Trucking Ltd., which is the company doing the work, declined an interview request but said they’re taking all precautions and have met with residents to try to address their concerns.
“It is enormous. There’s no question. That was my first impression,” said Dave Corkum, mayor of the Municipality of Kings County.
Corkum said he has heard from several residents about the pit and understands their frustrations.
Despite its size, he said the municipality can’t do anything about it, but he believes the province can do more.
Large piles of sand can be seen through the trees in David Grant’s backyard. (Jeorge Sadi/CBC)
“There certainly should be regulations and rules involved when you’re right in the middle of a large-scale subdivision,” Corkum said.
There is a two-year time limit for developing a subdivision in Kings County but there can be delays, according to the mayor.
The sandpit has already been there for a year. Residents are afraid they’ll be living next to it for many more months before a subdivision is finished.
“It certainly doesn’t look like it’s going to happen in the near future,” said Grant, as he waits to sell his home.
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