Last night’s public meeting at City Hall showed that council members are willing to live up to Barrie’s new motto of 'Well Connected Well Played'; and that’s a win for the majority of Barrie it seems.
General Committee held a public meeting to discuss the possible changing of the by-law that allows the parking of recreational vehicles in one’s driveway. The by-law currently states that RV’s, boats and trailers are allowed to be parked in private driveways so long as they are safely within the guidelines with regards to distance from the sidewalks.
The proposed amendment changes would have added provisions that included the parking of recreational vehicles being prohibited in the front yard or side yard abutting a street, making sure the minimum rear yard and side yard setback for a recreational vehicle would be 0.6 metres, and a recreational vehicle being allowed to be parked in a front yard or side yard abutting a street for a duration no longer than 72 hours each calendar month which would only be for the purposes of maintenance, loading or unloading.
Over 200 people showed up to council chambers to show their displeasure with the proposal, which was in no way going to be made law last night but merely looked at whether it would go further for investigation. Having seen a staff report on communities somewhat similar to Barrie and their by-laws, Councillor Arif Khan spoke about the reasons why he would not be supporting the proposed amendments when addressing the large gallery.
“This report, while well-researched and appreciated, does not reflect one major fact,” said Khan. “None of these cities and communities with the exception of Orillia are like us; Guelph, Toronto, Kitchener and Kingston aren’t as close to cottage country as Barrie. That fact is and has long been our motto and way of life, especially recently with our new motto of Well Connected Well Played. That is a nod to all the outdoor play we provide and try to push to visitors and residents alike. I just can’t support making that harder to do for our residents.”
It was admitted that what brought the issue this far were the complaints that city staffers had received regarding large RV’s from neighbours living next to those with them. 73 complaints were filed which is enough for the city to want to at least explore what could be done. Chair Doug Shipley realized the room last night was in favour of scrapping any proposal on a ban but wanted to remind folks why the council and committees were there.
“I understand that most or all of the people in here are upset that this meeting is happening,” said Shipley. “Understand though, that we are credited with listening to residents on all issues and one complaint is enough to have us want to see what we can do better for all.”
When the gallery was given the chance to speak, many of the 200 plus approached the microphones to convey their thoughts and opinions in favour of being allowed to park RV’s in their own driveways. Desmond and Michelle Principe were one of the couples who were directly affected by the issue as their 24-foot-long travel trailer was subject to many complaints, from one neighbour.
“We bought our trailer a year ago and it’s rarely home with us constantly being away,” said Desmond. “We have a neighbour who is a constant complainer and we knew that when we got this, it was going to be a target for him. We have always been within current city by-laws and we even called the city ahead of time to ensure we were within our standards when we purchased the trailer.”
The Principe’s had more disdain and concern with neighbours who, according to them, abuse the power the city allows them to have rather than with the meeting at council last night.
“We have nothing but good things to say about the politicians here in Barrie as they’ve been very helpful and understanding,” said Michelle. “This public meeting tonight is a show of how strong people like us feel. Our concern is more with those few in community who are annoyed by someone and use every chance to cause trouble for them.”
If anything came from last night’s meeting, it was that those who complain may be looking at more from here on in. Ward 9 councillor Sergio Morales was honest in that he knows some of the complaints came from his ward and acknowledged not all 73 complaints came from 73 people, but rather most complaints are repetitively from the same person.
“People live in Barrie for a reason, and when you start considering ways to take away what makes living and owning a home in town unique, that's when you need to re-evaluate what you're doing,” said Morales. “It's true that there's a few people out there who park RVs on the lawn all season long and have no respect for their neighbours, but trying to kill a fruit fly with a shotgun is not the correct approach to addressing the troublemakers.”
The issue, for all intents and purposes, was voted down by the committee, meaning that a the by-law concerning RV’s parked in driveways will not be amended right now. The issue will be brought to council in a couple weeks to see if it needs any tweaking to assist in essentially weeding out those who currently don’t follow the already in-place rules; councillor Morales doesn’t imagine there will be much changed.
“Council can now adopt the Committee's recommendation to not adopt a blanket ban, tweak it, or reverse it,” said Morales. “Anything can happen, but I predict Council will go forward with not adopting a blanket ban, and maybe add a few common-sense amendments to address the bad apples.”
