LSAC Land Use Bylaw Amendments Open House Update

LSAC Land Use Bylaw Amendments Open House Update

Lac Ste Anne County hosted an open house on July 30th at the Gunn Hall. The purpose of the Open House was to promote open discussion on a possible ByLaw Change, specifically speaking to the RV Issues.

Matthew Ferris, Planning and Development Manager for LSAC spoke to the people and assured everyone there that these proposed changes are open for discussion and suggestions and that nothing has been formalized at council/county. The document 22-2017 does show that it received first reading, in spite of the assurances so it begs the questions;

Where are they in this process?, Will they implement changes based on discussion and suggestion from ratepayers? Will they forge forward with their written recommendations? We do commend Mr. Ferris for getting on the podium and giving a brief and taking questions and notes. 

It is a shame that the other council members were present but inconspicuously spread in the hall instead of going to the front and showing support for Mr. Ferris.

So many issues come to mind with this document. So lets go back to the history of all this. 

They keep saying there are two sides to this issue, 

1. Those that have and want to keep RV 's on their land and 
2. Those that believed they were investing in a Residential community and buying or building their Home. 

There has never been RV’s allowed on vacant land and Matthew Ferris openly blames Real Estate Sales People for the mess we are in now. 

I will tell you, it is very apparent that the County is 100% to blame for the mess we have today if for no other reason than simply LACK OF BYLAW ENFORCEMENT.

People openly admit they ought to have looked into whether it was legal or not to place them on the lots prior to purchase but they admittedly did not. They looked around the neighborhood and if they saw one on a lot, they then assumed that they were allowed, purchased and placed their own on their property. 

Where the confusion really comes in is when would it be okay to place 3 and 4 on a lot permanently? 

• We cannot have two, 3 or 4 residences on a lot so why would anyone think it is okay to have this many RV’s on a lot? 
• Why would anyone think it is okay to buy into a country residential community and place RV’s next to peoples Homes?  

So the problem has simply escalated because the county has turned a blind eye to BYLAW ENFORCEMENT. Real Estate is not to blame! The people purchasing these lots aren’t even 100 percent to blame. When no attention is paid to these issues from the very beginning, it becomes so big that BYLAW ENFORCEMENT seems completely IMPOSSIBLE and HOPELESS. 

So What is the Solution? 

The County puts together a draft copy of a Land Use Bylaw change where they have gone completely to the moon and back with respect to allowing RV’s. 

1. Do they write in that perhaps an RV should be allowed in certain areas of the County, areas considered Recreational Areas (get it, recreational vehicle/recreation land!!!) 
2. One RV allowed on one vacant lot? NOOOOO they decide that perhaps 4 is a good number!!! 4 families per vacant lot!! 6 if you have a larger parcel of land! Can you imagine the impact of this? 4 families x lets say 20 lots in a community where there are 20 permanent resident homes. 4 to one ratio… was the infrastructure of this community designed for this type of traffic/living? 
3. What kind of enforcement will there be for sewage/garbage, noise, traffic and servicing? 
4. Who will fix and maintain the roads that were never designed for this type of traffic? 
5.  And if 4 families get to stay on a vacant lot then why can we not build 3 in-law homes on our developed properties? 
6. Oh, and under the new proposed changes, I can build a garage too without having to obtain a development permit for a residence. So now I can fix the garage up to be a separate accommodation and rent it out too. I can put my RV on, Rent out another 3 plus now I can rent out my garage. So now every lot could have 5 potential families on them. 

All the while I and my neighbors have invested our life savings, built their homes, live year round, contribute to the quality of living by volunteering in our organizations such as the Library, Museum, Recreational And Agricultural Boards, so that we can maintain a quality of life in our small town living and protect their largest investment in life. 

Do these 4 or 5 families coming out to enjoy their recreational properties and activities contribute to this “way of life” and will the taxes from these vacant lots be enough to cover all the extra strains on the areas, ie: roads, garbage, sewers and lagoons which will need updating due to excess use and BYLAW ENFORCEMENT. Will this mean that our taxes will increase to subsidize the strains? 

There will likely be a lot of differing opinions on this subject. Those that think it is okay and those that are opposed. It is a topic pitting one neighbor against the other. If the county had enforced their own “BYLAWS ” from the beginning, we would not be having these discussions/disagreements.

Most all other counties take enforcement seriously, and most of these other counties face the same issues given they have “Recreational Land” bordering lakes. Why is that they can be successful in getting the message out that these types of things will not be tolerated? You won’t drive a round these other counties and see the fierce number of Recreational Vehicles parked on vacant lots. Somebody asked previously what the county will do with those that are already placed and used on these lots if the bylaw is changed to not allow any on vacant country residential land. Well you can not grandfather something if it was never legal to begin with. Ignorance is not always bliss. 

When you own land or property outside of your prime residence, you know that you do not have the right to vote there. No matter if you purchase a second residence, cottage, land here or in Palm Springs or California or Mexico. You know that going in that you have no right to vote in that area. You are not as impacted by ongoing changes as those that live and breath in these communities.

At the LSAC Open House two "POSTER BOARDS" were present for the purpose of "VOTING" whether or not RV's should be allowed in 18 subdivisions. This is just a portion of LSAC that is affected by this "Proposed Change in our LUB".

Anyone and everyone was allowed to place a dot to cast their "VOTE" even if they were not a "COUNTY RESIDENT".  Why would LSAC allow such an approach to decide the "FUTURE" of our County. What is the LSAC Census of Residents and  Non- Resident Recreational Users? A plebiscite vote would be one solution perhaps. The suggestion when brought up at the "Open House" was quickly dismissed by Matthew Ferris.

Members of LSARA believe a suggestion to the County would be for the County to create a focus group, made up of year round residents and summer residents, with a mediator, and representation from all divisions. 

This focus group can investigate other areas and their successes and failures when it comes to the RV issues. They should investigate impacts on our communities. They should look at the long term goals, advantages and disadvantages of these decisions. These recommendations and decisions will take some time so it would be suggested that enforcement begin until this matter is settled. Currently there are no allowances in the Land Use Bylaw to allow RV’s on lots so perhaps they have no choice but to "ENFORCE THE BYLAWS" until the proper channels are followed to change the LUB. 

  These Bylaws are not Enacted to be Treated as Simply a Suggestion?!

We are encouraging everyone to write in to the county on this matter, whichever way you feel about it. We also would like a copy of your letters sent to LSARA so that we can chart (without disclosing any personal information) who is in favor and who is not or what changes you would like to see to the proposed LUB document where the summary was provided at the Open House this past Sunday in Gunn. 

Another open house is scheduled for August 30th at the Darwell Hall so it will be interesting to see how many people show up to show support for or against this Hot Topic.

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