Princeton motel may not be able to rebuild following November’s flood

Several months after a massive flood tore through the town of Princeton, B.C., a family is still trying to salvage what they can of their property.

Gordon Daw and his wife have owned the Riverside Cabins for almost 17 years and said that the flood caused $1.7 million in damage.

“That’s a tough one because you’ve never really been through something like that,” said Daw. “You go to bed one night, you get up the next day and everything is gone.”

Daw said they are hoping to rebuild but he has been told to tear down over half of the cabins.

“They said at the time that these could stay but now I hear only six of those can stay and without having any help or knowing what I can do.”

The tear-down comes with a hefty price tag. Daw estimates that each cabin could cost upwards of $70,000.

4:50 Princeton mayor says flood recovery efforts have stalled

The mayor of Princeton, Spencer Coyne, said the cabins were up to code prior to the flood but that is not the case now.

“Unfortunately, because of the building codes, when you go to rebuild, you have to meet current building codes and those buildings are so old that they predate most of the building codes today,” said Coyne.

Coyne went on to say that the cabins are too close to the river.

“Unfortunately – he is right on the river and there is a 30-metre area that the riparian is in. And he’s unfortunately within those 30 meters,” said Coyne.

Coyne added that Daw needs to get a riparian study before he can potentially move forward with rebuilding the motel.

2:03 Princeton, B.C. in need of long-term housing solutions amid flood recovery