WESTVILLE, N.S. — A small business owner says a mistake the town of Westville made, has left the future of her shop on shaky ground.
“I’m just tired. I’m not sleeping and I’m not thinking straight,” said a frustrated Jane Wile inside her 1905 Main St. shop in Westville. “It's cost me business. I’ve lost sleep. My son and my daughter work here. This is their livelihood. My grandchildrens' support, everything.”
Wile purchased the property on May 29, 2019 with the intention of renovating the main room and constructing an addition at the back of the building.
Prior to making an offer on the building, Wile says that both the town’s building inspector, Emily Jones and town planner, Rachel MacLean had indicated to her that she had permission to move forward with her plans.
Emails sent to Wile from the town’s building inspector, Emily Jones, indicate that her plan to build an addition on to the building would be allowed.
The email, sent on May 14 says:
“I did speak with Rachel McLean (Town Planner) and confirmed that you are allowed to have the apartment, and you need 4ft to the property line, so your addition will also work.”
A follow up on May 15 re-confirmed this.
“To confirm again, Rachael has said that you are able to have a residential unit connected to your commercial space, and she is also okay with your 16’ addition to the back.”
The extension that Wile had planned was for hosting workshops.
“That’s the real meat and potatoes. I teach workshops. I have girls come in and teach, and I dye wool. That’s my real business,” explains Wile pointing to a room at the back of the shop.
The concrete floor is unfinished and the room is cluttered like an unused basement. Beside the entrance there is a cease occupancy note tacked to the wall.
A snag
From the end of May until July, Wile and her family began work on the renovations for the businesses’ merchandise room and on an adjoining apartment.
Throughout this process Wile says that she and the building inspector were in communication with one another and things were progressing according to plan.
On Aug. 2, 2019 Wile purchased an application for building and development permit for the addition.
At that same time, the town planner was taking a medical leave of absence.
Wile says that she was told by the building inspector that she would receive her approved permit at a scheduled pre-pour inspection for the add-on’s new foundation.
In the meantime Wile says that she was told to get started on the footprint for the add-on.
“She said continue on,” said Wile.
But less than a month later Wile says she heard from the interim town planner, Roland Burek, that there might be a problem.
“We were getting ready to end the conversation and it was almost like I was ready to hang up and then he said ‘hold on a minute,’” said Wile recounting the conversation. “He said ‘you’re in a subsidence zone.’”
Shaky ground
A subsidence zone is an area where land is sinking. It can happen over large areas or small and the sinking may be gradual or sudden. In municipal areas with a history of coal mining, subsidence issues are not new.
In fact, information on subsidence zones caused by old mining operations throughout Pictou County can be found on the Nova Scotia Government website under Geoscience Atlas.
Based on her own research and conversations with geo engineers, Wile is confident that her shop is right on the line of an old mine and believes there would be no subsidence issues at the end of an old mine working.
“I’m right on the end of it,” Wile said pointing to a part of the map that shows a subsidence zone over the old Scott pit shaft.
“The thing is, it could be collapsed and it could not be,” said Jamie Currie, Wile’s brother.
With information on the subsidence accessible by Google search Wile and her family were surprised that this was the first time she was being told about it.
“If they didn’t know, then someone dropped the ball somewhere,” said Currie.
‘She’s got all this money invested’
Up to this point Wile says that she had invested over $200,000 into the business, money left to her after her husband passed away in April 2019.
“We told them at the time, we have to go ahead,” said Currie. “She’s got all this money invested, all the materials are bought and you can’t just return them.”
On Sept. 20 they poured the cement slab. Both Wile and Currie say that their last conversation with the interim town planner, Burke, left them feeling confident that they could move forward.
The add-on was completed in mid-November and on the 29th Wile was served with a Cease Occupancy Order. The order is still in effect and the add-on meant for hosting workshops and wool dying is not being used.
Now, Wile says that the town of Westville has proposed a study that would be co-paid so that she would not need to take on the full expense. But she says that the town ought to cover the full cost.
“Why should I pay to fix their mistake?”
For its part, the town of Westville has referred the matter to its insurer for an investigation “with the hope of a timely resolution.”
Wile is adamant, if she had been told of the subsidence in May 2019, she would not have bought the building at all.
“I would have gone somewhere else,” said Wile. “I could have gone anywhere else in the county, but we really like Westville.”