New 4 WIVB Investigative Reports
Outraged Neighbors Uncover Solid Waste Nightmare
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Orchard Park, NY, January 6, 2006) - - Outraged neighbors in Orchard Park say they've uncovered a solid waste nightmare. They claim they were never told their dream homes were sitting on a landfill. News 4 Investigative Reporter Luke Moretti is breaking this developing story Friday night. Imagine paying hundreds of thousands of dollars for a new home only to find...
Homeowner Cindy Honer: "Our dream home is built on a dump site."
That's the claim made by these Town of Orchard Park residents. Mike and Cindy Honer and Kristin Matteson say they want out.
Orchard Park homeowner Kristin Matteson said, "I don't want anything to do with this sub-division. I don't want to drive by the Ryan Home model every day. I just want to move my kids and my family to a safe environment."
The two families moved into their upscale Barrington Heights homes a year ago. This spring, the two residents uncovered a big surprise - something the builder, Ryan Homes, never told them they say.
Cindy Honer: "All of this is garbage. I don't want any of this."
Cindy Honer shows us her backyard littered with old bottles and cans. She showed us pictures of an ash-like substance, now covered over with top soil.
Mike Honer said, "We can't even go back there. We can't let the dogs back there. We can't let anybody go back there."
They even paid for their own soil and groundwater testing.
It found that eleven of twenty-two metals detected in soil samples were found at levels which exceed state environmental standards.
Cindy Honer said, "If my children ever got sick down the road, I would never know if this was the cause of it, and I could never live with myself for doing such a thing."
The Honer and Matteson families have filed a lawsuit against Ryan Homes. The suit alleges the builder neglected to inform them their homes were built on a waste disposal site.
They brought their fight to the Town of Orchard Park this week. They were told building permits involving lots adjacent to them are on hold until testing is done.
Cindy Honer: "Never...never...never feel safe here. We just want out."
...even if takes yellow tape, and signs out front of their homes.
Kristin Matteson said, "...just to show people what's going on here. We feel that other future home buyers have a right to know what's in their neighborhood."
It's a fight these Barrington Heights residents say they won't give up.
News 4 tried to contact Ryan Homes Friday for a comment. The company did not return our calls.
http://www.wivb.com/Global/story.asp?S=4331801