Recently there was a Facebook post from a local resident reaching out for help. The family’s sadness resonated in this post and it caught my attention. It was in regard to a city zoning bylaw.
Happy memories are essential to our mental health and strengthen our sense of identity and purpose, especially now post-pandemic. Family time together creates lasting memories. The residents of Timmins should have the same opportunities as other residents in Ontario where they can share family time with their loved ones, enjoy nature and make new memories doing what they enjoy the most.
In a news article dated June 16, 2021, entitled “Outrage over City’s ‘Ridiculous’ Order to Remove Trailers from Cottage Properties” there was reference to the Official Plan and 2011 Zoning Bylaw. It noted that residents received letters from the city advising that they had "multiple dwellings" on their properties and had to remove them.
Other municipalities across Ontario were looking for a way to regulate the use of camping trailers on properties. A number of them have a “trailer licence bylaw”. This bylaw would require anyone staying in a trailer on a residential waterfront lot for longer than 14 days to purchase a licence.
The Municipality of French River worked with their residents to try to strike a balance which would benefit trailer users rather than banning trailers outright and still be accountable to municipal laws, i.e. dumping septic, noise, etc. Under this bylaw, trailers are legally permitted to park on residential lots for the summer as long as they purchase a license. The “trailer licence bylaw” protects the environment, water and land by ensuring that sewage is properly maintained and disposed of as well as ensuring that proper setbacks are enforced. Public opinion was collected from an online survey and acted as a means to educate the public and to gauge support. Their travel trailer licensing bylaw and zoning bylaw amendments were prepared and reviewed by the law firm Cunningham Swan and JL Richards Engineering.
Other municipalities have implemented similar bylaws with associated permitting fees, including City of Kawartha Lakes in 2013; Township of Armour, Township of McMurrich/Monteith, Pelee Island, Municipality of Dysart all in 2016; Strong Township in 2017; Municipality of Magnetawin in 2019; Espanola and Township of Assiginack in 2021 — the list goes on. So why did the city make a unilateral decision when other municipalities were able to find a compromise?
When I was young, our family went camping every summer. I have memories of my Ukrainian grandmother wearing her apron and scarf chasing the chipmunks with her tea towel around the campsite yelling “*** burunduk”. She didn’t know that I was placing peanuts around the property because I liked them.
In my teenage years, a friend joined our family’s camping trip to Parry Sound. We noticed the rattlesnakes sunbathing on the rocks as we drove to our trailer. The two of us decided to sleep in a tent for a real camping experience since she had never gone camping before. We blew up our air mattresses and prepared to go to sleep. My friend, for some reason, had to put curlers in her hair first. They were the brush rollers with picks to hold them in place. She started to squirm in her sleeping bag trying to get settled in when all of a sudden we heard a hissing noise. We were so terrified. It wasn’t until after her sleeping bag was flat that we realized that there was no snake in our tent. She had punctured her air mattress with a pick from her curler. Needless to say, my father had to drive her home that night.
Later in life, I went to my parents’ property on the French River with my daughter. They had a screened-in porch attached to their trailer and this was where my two-year-old learned to do puzzles for the first time. This was the trip where the “big one got away”. I saw this giant shadow coming toward my lure and since I did not have good balance on the floating dock, I quickly reeled my lure out of the water just as the “black monster” swam right in front of me. It was at least four feet long – no exaggeration!
Family members and friends have since passed but the camping memories live on. Those living in the city will form different memories than those who wish to enjoy being close to nature. No one should say on behalf of others how memories should be made since everyone has different likes and dislikes.
Timmins needs to follow suit with other municipalities so that residents have these same rights. This should not be time-consuming or difficult since there are numerous travel trailer licensing bylaws and zoning bylaw amendments already in existence across Ontario that adhere to the Municipal Act and Provincial Policy Statement.
Residents should plan on attending the consultations/public meetings for the Official Plan that will be scheduled this fall. This document guides your every day life for the next 25-plus years. Your participation is your voice.
Carol Tanguay,
Timmins, Ontario
