Flood map causing headaches as residents scramble to report errors!
22 Jul 2019
Tim Coochey’s house was flooded in 2017, and he’s still paying the price for what he calls government mistakes.
Coochey’s Des Maçons St. home was included in a moratorium flooding map issued by the Quebec government this week. The map delineates an area called the zone d’intervention spécial (ZIS), where all building and renovations must be halted, and homeowners affected by flooding in the future within that zone may not get compensation from the province.
“We were flooded because of (faulty) infrastructure, because the sewers backed up, not because of the river level,” said the longtime Pierrefonds resident. “Now I’m told I’m in a flood zone and my nest egg is worth half of what I paid because of government errors? I’m sorry, but no.”
Pierrefonds—Roxboro borough mayor Jim Beis said the new map is causing major grief to anyone trying to build or renovate in the affected area, and that includes the borough, which is in the process of building a new municipal pool — a project that has now been halted.
“The reason (the Quebec government) did it quickly is they didn’t want people to rush and get permits. So basically they closed the door until they figured it out,” Beis told the Montreal Gazette this week. “That’s fine and dandy, but you didn’t even consult me or anybody. I have (people) who’ve paid thousands of dollars to get to the permit stage. Now I have to stop everything.”
