Well Christmas is coming and the Grinch is already lurking around Souris (Friendliest Folks Around).... in fact the Town should have no problem to figure out a theme for their annual Parade... throw the Mayor up on a float as "Grinch"... and maybe the three overpaid political hacks at IRAC could be the "Three Wise Men"... certainly great to have those "common sense rules" in place... maybe we should all protest that parade....
IRAC upholds decision to disallow trailer
NANCY WILLIS
The Guardian
SOURIS — The Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission upheld the Town of Souris’ 2002 bylaw Tuesday, intended to phase out the use of trailers within town limits.It did so by denying an appeal made by Souris Trailer Park owners Anne McPhee and Billy MacMaster of Rollo Bay, who earlier this year allowed a mobile home into the park instead of a mini-home which new regulations call for. The trailer was placed in the park without a permit, and put on the spot a former tenant had vacated. When McPhee and MacMaster applied for the permit, it was denied in accordance with the municipal bylaw which makes it illegal to replace one trailer with another. “Any pre-existing mobile home is considered ‘prior and non-conforming’, but once that one moves out of there, no other can replace it, only a mini-home of the appropriate size,” said town administrator Shelly McInnis. Mayor Joanne Reid was pleased with the outcome of the IRAC decision, which took over a month to come down. “In its statement, IRAC said that the Town of Souris correctly applied its bylaws, and I was very pleased about that because we really do put a lot of time into refining our bylaws and this decision makes me feel very good,” she said. Because the McPhee/MacMaster mobile home was in the park without the town’s permission, it was never granted access to sewer and water services. “A tenant is living there, and we understand there is water going into the place, but I can only say at this point that we never gave it to them, and it would be illegal if we did. And we do have the right to ask for the mobile home to be removed,” added the mayor. However, until the issue is discussed among council, Reid said she will not be making any further statement. Anne McPhee said she was surprised and disappointed to hear IRAC's ruling. She said she and MacMaster will be appealing, and are speaking to lawyers now. “Where else is a mobile home going to go in the town? In a trailer park, of course,” she said. She cited how much the park has been fixed up since she and MacMaster bought it a few years ago. “It is really very pretty now, and a decent place like that is needed for people who are unable to go into a more expensive setting,” she said. McPhee and MacMaster have 20 days to appeal the IRAC decision.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
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I know the timing is not great, but it sounds like the community voted in a bylaw addressing this condition (and it seems pretty clear what the rules are) and as such the law needs to be enforced. If enough people feel strongly about this I assume they can hold a vote to amend or rescind the bylaw (my guess is that will not happen if the originators did their homework in the first place).
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