North Frontenac takes complicated look at recreational vehicles

Craig Bakay | Mar 02, 2022

With Deputy Mayor Gerry Martin in the chair for the absent Mayor Ron Higgins, North Frontenac Council began its regular (online) meeting Feb. 25 with three public meetings — a zoning bylaw amendment, amendments to the Zoning Bylaw as it pertains to recreational vehicles and the Recreational Bylaw and amendments to the Fees and Charges Bylaw.

Of the three, the Recreational Vehicle bylaw consumed the most time as Council and staff tried to acknowledge, account for and accommodate the changing ways RVs are used in the Township including providing temporary lodging for visiting friends and relatives (such as for a wedding), providing shelter for hunters and simple storage.

Clerk-Planning Manager Tara Mieske’s report outlined the proposed changes, beginning with a definition of what is not an RV: park model trailers, mobile homes, tiny homes and tent trailers.

Mieske’s report said the previous bylaw was designed to license RVs. The proposed bylaw will regulate and licence RVs.

One of the proposed regulations changes is to setbacks. Currently, a seven-metre setback is required but this will increase to 10 for front and rear yards (five in the rear if not on water). On the sides, the setbacks are reduced to five metres from seven.

Decks around the unit shall not exceed the 10 square metres with a maximum height of 60 centimetres and meet the provisions of the Zoning Bylaw and Building Code. If the deck is built within the proposed size requirements, a building permit would not be required.

As far as accessory structures go, the current bylaw says that gazebos, viewing platforms, storage sheds, etc, shall not exceed a total area of 15 square metres and meet the requirements of the Zoning Bylaw and Building Code. Under the proposed bylaw, said structures shall not exceed a total area of 10 square metres with a maximum height of eight feet and meet the provisions of the Zoning Bylaw and Building Code. However, docks and Pump Houses are now permitted.

“I currently hold a placement permit (and) have accessory units that were permitted but are now larger than permitted,” said Bradley Schmidt, call in by phone.

“Council could recognize anything that was built with a building permit at the time,” said Mieske.

“When these occur, they’ll have to be on a case by case basis,” said Martin.

The current provisions for use of an RV with a Dwelling of 14 consecutive days within a 90-day period (Zoning Bylaw) will change to a maximum of 28 days per visit (RV Bylaw)

Coun. John Inglis probably summed the exercise up best by saying: “I think we should pass this RV bylaw as is with the expectation that we’ll have to refine it in a couple of years.

“It’s very complicated.”

The bylaw will come for passage at a future Council meeting.

Power to The People

With regards to Hydro One Outages in the Mazinaw area (such as the December, 2021 windstorm that affected 500 households) Clerk-Planning Manager Tara Mieske told Council that Mayor Ron Higgins had received an email from Hydro One stating that there are no restrictions mandated by Bon Echo Park on the trimming of brush and trees around Hydro Lines and re-routing power to come from Cloyne is not a simple matter.

Coun. Wayne Good, who works for Hydro One said: “there are technical restrictions. You can’t just change from one transformer to another.”

Radar Speed Signs

Public Works Manager Darwyn Sproule reporting on the new dynamic speed radar signs said the results of speeding going into Plevna were somewhat expected, except for one result going out the hamlet.

“The maximum speeds are shocking,” he said. “I don’t know how someone could get up to 159 kph leaving the village.”

He said they opted to install the signs on poles rather than trailers because of price, about $8,000 per versus $20,000.

“We can still move them around,” he said.

Land Expropriation

When Dep. Mayor Gerry Martin mentioned that expropriation was still on the table for some properties along the K & P Trail rout, it prompted Coun. Fred Fowler to respond: “I just feel if we’re going to expropriate, it shouldn’t be for recreation.”

“If it came to expropriation, you’re going to have some very bad feelings for a very long time,” said Coun. John Inglins.