June 16, 2011
Neighbours battle
over shoreline
by Denise Walker
Like the “gift that keeps on giving”, shoreline road allowance issues
continue to bedevil Laurentian Hills council.
The 2010 Official Plan clearly upheld the principle that the town would
not sell shoreline road allowances, or access routes to the shoreline.
However, there are still areas where ownership is contested, and where
neighbour is pitted against neighbour.
One such dispute has landed in the lap of Laurentian Hills council.
Last week, Gerry and Ann Frketich, together with Lynn Dunn and her
husband, Bruce Winterbon, asked the planning committee to intervene
with their neighbour, Mr Legree.
The two couples live on either side of the Legree property on
Gardenview Lane.
The question of who has access to a sandy beach spanning the three
properties has erupted into a bitter battle severing a friendship that
had spanned more than 25 years.
Gerry Frketich told the planning committee last week that he and his
wife “claim no ownership to the shore road allowance in front of our
home.”
“All we would like to do is share this public area with our neighbours
as we have for the past 25 years leading up to last spring.”
Frketich said that everything changed in the spring of 2010 when Legree
announced that he owned the land in front of his house right down to
the water’s edge.
According to Frketich, Legree constructed a fence along the property
line extending into the shoreline road allowance, crossing the road
allowance, and constructed a deck at the public rocky point.
By the fall, the situation had deteriorated with Legree extending the
fence line with steel pegs down to the water’s edge.
Frketich said Legree then installed a drainage system that altered the
natural drainage.
The drainage system consisted of a half culvert marked by black plastic
piping that was installed across the sand.
A “No Trespassing” sign was erected facing the Frketich property.
The Frketich family consulted a lawyer, complained to town officials,
and to the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR).
After the MNR were involved, the portion of the fence on the public
road allowance was removed.
While grateful for MNR’s intervention, the Frketich family want the
town to do more to resolve the situation.
“We need to have the culvert, piping, and deck removed, and the land
restored to its natural state,” Frketich told the committee.
Lynn Dunn also told the committee that Legree “made it plain that he
believed he owned the shoreline road allowance and had the right to
prevent access to it.”
Dunn challenged the town to intervene, asking, “If Mr Legree is allowed
to build on public property, where will it stop?”
“Does it mean anyone can build on public property? This situation needs
to be resolved to allow our wonderful neighbours to enjoy their
property.”
Both Councillor Brenda Blimkie, chair of the planning committee, and
Mayor Dick Rabishaw promised that the committee would look into the
situation.
|
