CHATHAM-KENT — Residents on Erie Shore Drive are trying to figure out their next move after being forced from their homes over the weekend.
The deadline to clear out personal items from homes along the stretch of shoreline in Chatham-Kent came and went Sunday night. A state of emergency was declared on Feb. 29 after the dike system began to fail.
As of Monday at 12 a.m., Erieau Road to 18416 Erie Shore Dr. is closed and it's expected to stay that way until the end of April.
Homeowner Kim Snell and many of her neighbours are afraid they'll never be allowed back and are considering legal action. She tells CTV Windsor her dream home has now turned into a nightmare.
"The dream obviously was to retire here and we had to hope for water levels to go down, that's all gone. This place went from the best investment we've ever made to the worst possible investment you could imagine," she says. "What are we left with? Nothing, like literally nothing ... except a mortgage."
Deb Vint says she is waiting for direction from the Erie Shore Drive Property Association about legal action.
"They [the municipality] are expropriating our land, without expropriating our land. They are not compensating us for not allowing us access to our properties," she says.
Deb Vint and Kim Snell outside their homes on Erie Shore Drive in Chatham-Kent on Saturday March 7, 2020. (Photo by CTV Windsor's Melanie Borrelli)
Property association president Terra Cadeau says close to 100 per cent of residents have contributed to a legal fund.
Cadeau adds the association will continue to hold meetings to update residents on talks with the municipality.
Just over 120 full-time homes and cottages are along the dike in need of repairs.
— with files from CTV Windsor's Melanie Borrelli.