City Steps In, Coughs Up $250K To Rebuild Seven Backyards Gobbled Up By 'Rogue' Canal As Evacuated Townhouse Residents Get Green Light To Return Home

In Sunrise, Florida, WFOR-TV Channel 4 reports:

• A handful of residents in a Sunrise community are rejoicing tonight. Nearly 8 weeks after being evacuated from their homes when part of their backyards collapsed into a canal, repairs are completed at Spring Tree Cove West and residents are able to return home.

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• A total of seven townhouses were evacuated and declared unsafe. For weeks, residents didn’t know if the homes sustained significant damage and when or if they’d be able to return home.

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• There is debate over who owns the land — Broward County or the Spring Tree Cove West homeowner’s association. While that is sorted out, the city of Sunrise spent $250,000 to repair the canal bank with rock, sand, dirt and soil. The city plans to put up fencing in the backyard. Each home had to be certified as safe by a structural engineer before the city would allow residents to move back in.

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• “I’m ecstatic that the city responded in such a forceful way,” said Mayor Mike Ryan. “Our entire effort is getting in touch with the residents and celebrating getting them back in their homes. It proves that government can do things right occasionally.”

For the story, see Evacuated Sunrise Residents Allowed Back Home.