This little missive popped up in my Facebook feed for some reason. While I don鈥檛 live in Regina, if I did, and owned an RV, I would be breathing fire.
The City of Regina鈥檚 official Facebook page said, 鈥淚t鈥檚 officially time to pack up summer. Between Nov. 1 and April 1, campers, RVs and boats aren鈥檛 allowed in front yards or driveways. Bylaw Enforcement Officers may ask you to move them.
鈥淪ee you next April, summer fun!鈥�
I鈥檓 so glad they鈥檙e cheery in the horrible abuse of Regina鈥檚 citizens. To the incredulous responses, they went on to explain, 鈥淭his bylaw has been in place for some time in order to prevent residents鈥� views or sunlight being blocked by recreational vehicles in yards nearby. The City realizes that recreational vehicles are a part of life for many residents, so the bylaw strikes聽a balance between allowing them in front yards in the summer when they鈥檙e commonly used, but not in the winter. Recreational vehicles are still allowed in side yards and back yards all year.鈥�
How thoughtful, or perhaps thoughtless, as in lacking in thought.
Views or sunlight blocked in November, December, January? Who cares? What do you see then? Snow! All the way until March, usually. And it鈥檚 dark in the evening. There鈥檚 no light to see by, either.
We had a lot of parking in our former North Battleford home. The driveway was wide enough to park four vehicles across, including a 33-foot fifth wheel on the side along the fence. My parents were kind enough to give us their old RV when they bought a newer one. Sure, it was nearly as old as me, but it functioned, and it was paid for. However, when we moved to Estevan, our parking situation was different, and there was not room to park it in our driveway. So we hauled the old camper back to my parents鈥� acreage and parked it by the shed, and then the field.
There mice gained access to it and utterly destroyed it. You really shouldn鈥檛 enter it without hazmat attire. So long, RV. I still haven鈥檛 figured out how to dispose of it. A match came to mind, but then what do I do with the wreckage?
This is what I expect will happen to hundreds of RVs from municipalities like Regina who seek to banish them from their homes. Not everyone is going to want to pay for a storage facility. So they鈥檙e going to find their way to farms of people they know, or charge a lot less than storage compounds. There, out of sight, out of mind, and not regularly checked on, the RVs will be contaminated and destroyed by mice.
Also, they become easy pickings for thieves.
Too bad, so sad, right? You don鈥檛 own an RV, so why should you care? Perhaps you will when your SGI bill goes up due to mice-related claims.
If I had been able to keep my RV in my yard, check on it every few weeks or so, I would still have a camper today.
If you have purchased a yard in Regina large enough to park an RV or boat in, you have surely paid several hundred thousand dollars for it. That also means you are paying more taxes than smaller yards that are not capable of accommodating these RVs. You are paying for the property, you are paying additional taxes, you should have free enjoyment of it.
One wonders if someone was in cahoots with some storage facility operators when this bylaw was cooked up.听
Why stop at 鈥渦nsightly鈥� RVs and boats? What鈥檚 the difference between a 22-foot camper and a panel truck, such as those used as food trucks or tool salesmen? Maybe the city should be dispatching those to the wilderness, too.
This RV banishment bylaw is a horrid example of nanny state over-government. Fix it, Regina.
鈥� Brian Zinchuk is editor of Pipeline News. He can be reached at [email protected].听
