Two weeks after RidgeView Place was evacuated, the City of Langford is holding a meeting on Monday to give residents a chance to ask questions.
Langford says council, city staff, and community partners will attend the meeting to provide an update and to have “open conversations and questions.”
Residents of the building will be prioritized for the questions, but if there is time, the city says members of the public and media will be permitted to ask questions.
A spokesperson for Langford tells CHEK News the update will be about the fundraiser for residents, not an update on the building.
The meeting will start at 5 p.m., and is scheduled until 6:45 with a council meeting scheduled to start shortly after at 7.
People are invited to attend the meeting about RidgeView Place in person at Langford City Hall, or by Zoom with the meeting ID number 824 4522 1957.
In an update on May 8, Centurion, the property management company that owns the building, said 84 per cent of the displaced residents have said they have found new permanent homes, 13 per cent have found temporary accommodation, and three per cent are unknown.
Tara Davies is a former resident who was able to find housing, but she says all the unknown aspects of RidgeView Place play on her mind.
“I can’t even put into words how much it changes everything like you don’t feel secure in your home,” Davies said.
“I had renter’s insurance and they’re denying and saying it’s not covered. You wonder why you pay for it. You don’t think in a million years when you’re doing your insurance that this is something that you’re not going to be covered.”
Davies says she hasn’t been able to work due to the stress of the situation.
“I’m a bus driver, I’m not sleeping at night. I can’t drive a bus when I can’t sleep,” Davies said. “I have nightmares, sometimes it takes me forever to fall asleep. I constantly wonder if it’s gonna fall down like in the next week if something were to happen.”
There still remain some unanswered questions that Davies hopes will come from Monday night’s meeting.
“What’s wrong? How unsafe is it? What’s actually going on with it? We lived there for a year with whatever issues going on like when did it start happening? Was it Mother Nature? Is it something from other buildings around?” Davies asked.
“We do live in an earthquake or so did the building shift? That’s possible. If it’s something structural then it goes to the engineer, but what’s going on? They obviously have some answers. But they’re just not letting anybody know.”
The property management company said 95 per cent of residents have picked up the $2,500 compassionate assistance cheques.
A resident sent CHEK News a notice from Centurion that says third-party structural engineers have approved a phased and controlled move-out to allow residents back inside to retrieve their belongings.
“[The engineers] have advised that the number of people on each floor be limited to 10 people, and that a maximum of 30 be allowed in the building at any given time,” the notice says. “To facilitate this, the elevator will need to be scheduled accordingly.”
READ MORE:
- April 25: Displaced Langford high-rise residents frustrated over lack of answers, support: ‘We deserve to live there’
- April 26: Who should cover emergency costs for Langford’s RidgeView Place tenants?
- April 27: RidgeView Place tenants insurance deny claims; Centurion offers additional funds
- April 27: ‘I am asking you to please leave’: Langford mayor provides update on RidgeView Place
- April 28: Ridgeview Place tenant worries about financial help that has yet to arrive
- May 2: Langford matching donations up to $75,000 for RidgeView Place tenants
- May 2: Still no timeline for tenants, preschool to return to Langford tower plagued by safety woes
- May 5: Residents from Ridgeview Place to start seeing money from funds today
Laura Brougham
