Editor:
I have been a happy Surrey resident for over 18 years now. I have seen this city grow and prosper exponentially.
As a former city employee for over 30 years, I can say I love this bustling city. I even built what I thought was to be my last home to retire, grow old in and live a comfortable, peaceful life. I live in a great subdivision with great neighbours.
Sounds pretty great, right?
Like most houses and subdivisions in Surrey, they have been built to strict and specific civic guidelines. It was a painstaking process getting permits for everything and having to pass countless inspections “to code.”
My entire subdivision is no exception to the city’s building laws set in place to make sure that residential land and property is used to the right capacity, ensuring a respectful living for all residents.
All common sense right?
Well, maybe I should have waited until 2010 to build my dream home here in the once quiet subdivision of 125 Street and 61 Avenue. It seems I could have just up and built whatever I liked, not having to pay any fees or worry about building inspectors not passing my home for failing the many bylaws.
Not only me but my neighbours as well. Boy do we feel duped.
Directly behind our subdivision, property owners built a separate two-bedroom, two-storey dwelling right beside their current home on their half-acre lot without any permits whatsoever that year.
Then, to add insult to injury, just recently it was discovered they built another workshop and garage to park their five-ton diesel vehicles and operate some sort of commercial home business.
One must be asking, wouldn’t the noise of all that construction have bothered you guys? Well, yes!
Our subdivision of at least 19 residences immediately filed a complaint to the City of Surrey to all the proper channels, including the mayor. We were advised the city would look into it and somebody would be sent to stop the construction. Further conversations and countless phone calls thereafter resulted in the same thing for the past four years now – nothing.
Both buildings are still standing, congesting our view and infuriating our residents with the constant noise of the commercial business.
We’ve gone to the proper authorities and nothing has come of this, other than more disappointment. Apparently, there are a privileged few who can do whatever they want without any consequences.
Clearly the owners at this address have proven there are no consequences whatsoever for not abiding by proper building codes and laws as set up by the City of Surrey.
Thank you for taking the time to read our frustrations, on behalf of all the 19 residences in the subdivision of 126 Street and 61 Avenue.
Mohinder Sanghera, Surrey