This little missive popped up in my Facebook feed for some reason. While I don’t live in Regina, if I did, and owned an RV, I would be breathing fire.
The City of Regina’s official Facebook page said, “It’s officially time to pack up summer. Between Nov. 1 and April 1, campers, RVs and boats aren’t allowed in front yards or driveways. Bylaw Enforcement Officers may ask you to move them.
“See you next April, summer fun!”
I’m so glad they’re cheery in the horrible abuse of Regina’s citizens. To the incredulous responses, they went on to explain, “This bylaw has been in place for some time in order to prevent residents’ 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 a balance between allowing them in front yards in the summer when they’re commonly used, but not in the winter. Recreational vehicles are still allowed in side yards and back yards all year.”
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’s dark in the evening. There’s 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’ acreage and parked it by the shed, and then the field.
There mice gained access to it and utterly destroyed it. You really shouldn’t enter it without hazmat attire. So long, RV. I still haven’t 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’re 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’t 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.
Why stop at “unsightly” RVs and boats? What’s 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.
— Brian Zinchuk is editor of Pipeline News. He can be reached at brian.zinchuk@sasktel.net.
