The city went too far in preparing to build a ditch behind Falcon Drive to help with spring flooding, Falcon Drive resident Rick Karp told council at its meeting Monday.

Karp told council there was a request in 2018 to the city from Condo Corp 95 to help alleviate the spring flooding residents were experiencing.

But it wasn’t until this year that anything happened, he said.

In July, he said there was still no word from the city on when work in the greenbelt to dig a ditch would be done.

There was no further contact with the condo board from the city regarding the flood mitigation work, he said.

Suddenly, said Karp, during the second week of October, without any contact with the board or Falcon Drive residents, there was activity moving into the greenbelt along the fence line.

“There was a large vehicle taking down all the trees and greenery, making a driveway six to seven metres wide – to say that the residents of the 19 condos were shocked would be an understatement,” he said.

There was a meeting set up that night among residents, and representatives of the city attended.

The residents were shown what the city was planning, he said, adding they were shocked to see the city’s intent, and there was nothing they could do about it.

“Due to the late start and the snow, that work was not completed,” he said.

“The new plan called for a one-metre walkway, but was not constructed. The ditch was not prepared to direct the flow of water in the spring, and the wild grass seed was not planted.”

Karp said the area along the fence line is bare and sloped toward the fence.

If there is flooding in the spring, the fence is likely to be damaged, he said.

Karp said residents have already noticed a loss of privacy and security as there has been traffic walking in the cleared area, which was not possible when the trees and other foilage were there.

There have already been a couple of complaints about people trying to take barbecues out of yards, he said.

He said the city has placed boulders to prevent motorized access to the area.

City engineer Taylor Eshpeter told Karp recently the city will have to get into the area to prepare the ditch before the spring thaw, he said.

Karp said residents would like more information regarding the city plans for a one-metre walkway.

The walkway, he said, would be an open invitation to people to walk right along the fence, so there is a need to mitigate that by having some bushes on the walkway to deter the traffic.

“And finally, we need to have a discussion on having some shrubs and trees put back into the bare area, which was cleared, as we understand it, simply to make room for the equipment.”

Karp emphasized the lack of communication from the city as a key factor.

“Hopefully, this won’t happen anywhere else in the city,” he said.

But Karp did note the city engineer, to his benefit, has agreed to meet with the residents during the winter to keep them up to date on the plans, he said.