SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - With eight new trailers already installed and 25 more to come before spring, things are getting a little snug in the Con Place and Rycon trailer courts, say residents.

Although new developments in the Con Place and Rycon trailer courts were approved by the city, new trailers have some residents feeling cramped. - Nicole Veerman/NNSL photo

"We were very happy to know that these vacant lots were going to be filled, but we had no idea to what extent," said Lorna Skinner, who has had a trailer in Con Place for 22 years.

"It's hard to say at this point in time because things aren't completed, but they're pretty tight."

Skinner said her issue is with the city, not Homes North, the developer who was given 17 lots by the city in August.

"The developer is only doing what the city is allowing him to do and it's pretty crazy what they're doing," she said.

Les Rocher, president of Homes North, said all of the lots are approved by the city for modular homes.

The developer received the land from the city in exchange for 13 lots in Niven Lake Phase VI. The new trailers are on the market for between $295,000 and $345,000.

"I don't know if residents are feeling cramped or not," he said. "I guess if you had open space beside you and you had free access to it and you lost it, you might. But does anyone give you free land beside your home?"

Jeff Humble, manager of planning and development for the city, could not be reached for comment before press time.

A Con Place resident, who asked not to be named, said she's happy to see new trailers coming in, but it's a shame they have to be so close together.

"It wasn't done right," she said.

"We'll see what happens, I'll probably just sell."

The Rycon trailer court has been in existence for more than 30 years.

Con Place was built by Con Mine owners Nerco Minerals in 1987 during a citywide housing crunch, so incoming mine workers wouldn't have to struggle to find a place to live.

When the Con Mine opened in 1938, the federal government owned the land and leased it out under a succession of different mine owners.

In 2003 the trailer court land was transferred to Municipal and Community Affairs (MACA) because the residents wanted to take-over ownership of their lots.

At that time, the residents received commissioners land leases and in 2007, after years of struggle, they gained ownership of their individual lots.

As a condition of gaining ownership of their land, the residents of the trailer courts had to remediate their lots to residential standards.

Beverly Chamberlain, director of land administration with MACA, said the residential standard for arsenic levels in the city is 160 parts per million, while the industrial standard is 340 parts per million.

A study done in 2005 at the trailer courts showed arsenic levels that were above the standard, she said.

"So what MACA did was it undertook a remediation project at the trailer courts on the land that was not leased, and at the same time, each of the individual residents that had leased the land from us undertook their own remediation projects so that the lots complied with the arsenic standards."

Remediation is done by scraping away the top 30 centimetres of land, disposing of it and replacing it with new clean fill, said Chamberlain.

"It was awful," said Skinner. "It cost us a lot of money because the city would not accept the land unless it was remediated with an engineered stamp."

In its agreement with the city, Homes North is responsible for maintaining the residential arsenic standard on all of its lots.

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