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A North Vancouver man is warning residents to take another look at their insurance policies after a recent water main break damaged public land next to his home -- and he was landed with the bill.
Walter Greaven, a resident of Doran Road in Upper Lynn Valley, saw much of his driveway destroyed June 27 when a water main under nearby Fromme Road ruptured, sweeping a huge volume of material out from under the paved surface and up on to the surrounding land. Large sections of the road and adjacent driveways collapsed, and waterborne gravel was dumped on neighbouring properties.
"I have depressions and cracks and sink holes," said Greaven. "The driveway is not what it used to be."
Greaven's basement was also flooded, as were those in two other homes. All told, 10 property owners were affected.
Municipal crews fixed the leak within about an hour and carted away much of the debris, but they did nothing to repair the damage to personal property, he said.
That means Greaven will have to pay around $8,000 for a new driveway, in addition to repairs to his basement. Although about a sixth of the damaged surface lies on municipal land -- the driveway crosses the boulevard allowance at the edge of the road -- the District of North Vancouver won't be paying a dime.
That fact left Greaven stunned.
"They always say, '(The allowance) is not your land, you cannot plant a hedge along here because it's district property,'" he said. "Now all of a sudden it seems like, 'This is your responsibility to pave that. . . .' That doesn't seem quite right."
Greaven's insurance company has agreed to cover the new driveway -- or at least the portion on his property -- but it was not going to when he first reported the mishap. Whether or not the company will cover the chunk on public land remains to be seen.
Greaven is happy that he likely won't be out of pocket personally, but he nonetheless remains astonished that his insurance company should have to foot the bill when a big piece of the claim amounts to damage caused by the municipality's infrastructure to the municipality's own land.
"We're a little horrified about that," he said. "They just absolve themselves."
But that's just the way the law works, according to the district.
"(No) municipalities are liable for damages sustained to personal property if they're related to a normal breakdown of the water system," said Jeanine Bratina, a spokeswoman for the district.
That rule is set out in British Columbia's Local Government Act, she said. Under the law, the municipality would only have been on the hook if the leak had been the result of neglect.
"In this case . . . we don't feel it was preventable," said Bratina. "Unfortunately, sometimes these things simply happen."
Generally speaking, the district would cover damage to its own property, but where driveways cross a boulevard an exception is made.
"The driveway is considered to be for the sole use of the property owner, rather than the community at large," said Bratina. "That's why it wouldn't be covered."
Greaven has no intention of fighting the law, but he feels more people should be aware of the situation.
"I guess a note to everyone is to read their insurance papers after they read the (Local Government) Act," he said. "If the municipality's not going to cover anything, then it's at your feet."
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