Neighbours square off in Huron-Kinloss
By Liz Dadson

Things aren't very neighbourly in some parts of Huron-Kinloss.

At the committee meeting Monday night (Nov. 3), council heard from owners of property just off Bruce Beach Road, where Highland Drive cuts off to the east, who have been blasted by their neighbours for miscreant behaviour.

Councillor Jim Hanna said he had received numerous calls about this problem and suggested either something is said to these landowners or the road in question, which leads to their property, would be closed off.

The owners, Diane and Pat MacMasters, were present in the audience and told Hanna that, "The situation has been blown way out of proportion,"  and their neighbours are the problem.

Pat MacMasters said he and his wife planted a few trees along the municipal roadway which is used to access Lake Huron. The MacMasters also use it [the lane] to get to their property.

"We've cleaned up the place and those trees have been there for a year," said MacMasters. "Then we told a neighborhood lady that she couldn't prune the trees.  The next thing we know all hell broke lose. It's a stupid problem."  He said the neighbours want the road closed but then "you're taking our rights away."

Diane MacMasters said people told them that Mike Fair, Facilities and Recreation Director, knew nothing and was "in cahoots" with the MacMasters. "We've had to get the police involved because of this problem," she said.

Hanna said he just wanted to find a solution so people would stop calling council upset about what has happened down there. "My phone rang for days," he said.

"We plan to retire there in a few years but we need to know whether we can access that property," said Pat MacMasters. "Right now, people are parking with their bumpers past the end of that roadway."

Council agreed to let Fair try to resolve the issue with some kind of compromise between the MacMasters and the neighbours.

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13/01/2009 04:24 PM

(continued)

Another Issue:

In a separate matter, Eric Carnell complained to council that his neighbour had built an accessory building too close to the lot line of his property in the township.

He said that the neighbour  "... had no permit when he started building the 12-foot-by-16-foot shed in July, but obtained one later. The shed was supposed to be two metres from the lot line but is actually under four feet from the lot line".

"I wrote to council in August about the issue and spoke with the chief building official three weeks ago, and then again last Thursday and still there is no resolution to this," said Carnell.  "This is unacceptable. I'm a $4,000/year taxpayer and I am getting no resolution to this problem. That's why I'm here. This should take five minutes to resolve. I'm not sure why it's taken four months."

Chief Building Official, Matt Farrell said Carnell's problem with his neighbour is not a priority and would be dealt with in due time.

"This is a dispute between neighbours and I don't want to get in between them," he said. "Until they calm down, I'm not enforcing anything. I'm getting phone calls (from Carnell) every week, sometimes two to three times a week. I'm sick of it. He's wasting my time."

He said if he believes there is a problem with the location of the neighbour's shed, he would have to order a survey done, at a cost of $600-$700 to the township. And if it's too close to the lot line, he would have to order the shed moved. Or the neighbour could apply for a minor variance and, if approved, leave the shed where it is. "It could take up to a year to resolve this and could cost $10,000 in legal bills," he said.
"I will get to it," said Farrell, "but I'm dealing with other issues that are a higher priority."

Council agreed to allow Farrell to resolve the issue in due course.