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May 20, 2023

iN VIDEO: Kamloops residents brace for another year of 'ear

A Kamloops construction project hasn't seen a foundation built after more than

A Kamloops construction project hasn't seen a foundation built after more than two years of work, but nearby Pineview residents expect machinery to continue to disturb the neighbourhood this summer.

Large jackhammers continue to chip away at a rocky hillside on Hugh Allan Drive and neighbours have had enough.

"We had no idea what we were getting into when we moved in," Stephanie Cousins said. "This is bad."

She's complained to the City of Kamloops multiple times, but developers aren't breaking any rules as long as the work falls within business hours set within their permit. The City allows rock hammering for this project between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday to Friday.

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"I can't even be outside in my backyard," Cousins said.

Her house is roughly the distance of a football field away. She used an app on her phone and measured the volume at 105 decibels, roughly the volume of a rock concert and enough to damage hearing.

She said her family just finished installing a pool in the backyard this year. She's looking forward to her children enjoying it over the summer, but she worries the construction noise will make it impossible to even try.

"You can't even turn music on to a reasonable level to drown it out. It's so ear-piercing," Cousins said. "It affects our quality of life. I know that sounds dramatic, but it ruins our sleep, my kids can't play outside and now I'm learning with this decibel level, it's actually causing hearing damage."

Neighbours in townhouses even closer to the project are equally frustrated, with one resident calling it "torturous."

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Malcolm Dixon and Taylor Collinge both live in the area and both voiced frustrations with the ongoing work, questioning why it couldn't have been done more quickly by blasting the hillside rather than subjecting the neighbourhood to years of jackhammering.

At 1730 Hugh Allan Drive, there have been a series of ongoing permits for earthworks since 2016, according to the City's building and engineering development manager Jason Dixon.

He said neither the permit nor City bylaws limit decibel levels for construction work. Instead, noise is based on a time window in which construction is allowed.

Normally noise regulations would regulate construction hours from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week. That's been reduced for this project.

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The City hasn't approved any development permits for the site and no work for this property has been approved by council. However, earthworks permits don't require council approval and property owners can take on this work before a development permit "at their own risk."

It's not clear why the owner hasn't blasted the rock instead of prolonging the work with jackhammers over years, but Dixon said that option is open.

"I'm not aware of or party to why they chose the current method," he said in an email, adding that it would require more "leg work" to obtain permits.

The current permit expires on Aug. 23, 2023, with eventual plans for a 115-unit residential development, according to City documents.

The property is owned by the Gaglardi family's Northland Properties Corp. Back in 2008, Northland wanted to build a Sandman Hotel on the site. It backed out of that project, and instead built the downtown Sandman Hotel, which was completed in 2012.

Northland did not respond to a request for comment from iNFOnews.ca.

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