Email dated April 26, 2016 from R. & D. Stonehouse Re: Privacy issues on Six Mile Road

Correspondence Regarding Privacy Issues on Six Mile Road

Subject: FW: Privacy issues on Six Mile Road

Dear Mr. Rosenberg,

Thank you for your prompt reply. Again, however, I feel that the Town has provided a dismissive reply as opposed to acknowledging our concerns. Thank you, however, for providing clear answers to our earlier inquiries about:

1. Who, indeed, is responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the land along 6 Mile Road behind the houses of 114 and 116 Thetis Vale Cres.?

It belongs to MOTI, but Victoria Contracting has a contract through the Town of View Royal to provide maintenance for “the benefit of all residents.”

2. What will it take to remedy the current situation satisfactorily for everyone? The Town of View Royal is “not able to provide immediate assistance”.

Perhaps, in my earlier correspondence, the fact that I used the term “privacy” caused some confusion. I assume that View Royal homeowners have a general right to privacy. Therefore, is there not, at some level, an implied covenant of quiet enjoyment of a homeowner's property? Since the removal of the majority of the vegetation behind our homes of 114 and 116 Thetis Vale Cres, we, the homeowners, have lost the enjoyment of our back yards (and in part our indoor family rooms) due to the vehicle and pedestrian traffic on 6 Mile Rd. Since the clear cutting of this greenery, there is no longer significant vegetation to diminish the noise of the traffic or provide some natural cover to shield the traffic and, as well, the lights of the Urban Ground Market development. Can this not be construed as a nuisance since the condition of the property along 6 Mile Rd. has been altered and now that interferes with neighbouring owners’ abilities to enjoy their property? I believe that it is most definitely a nuisance.

This nuisance has arisen from an act that (although supposedly intentional for a specific purpose) resulted in a situation whereby vehicular traffic noise and lights along 6 Mile Road invades the right of enjoyment of neighbouring land owners to an unreasonable degree. This loss of enjoyment of our properties creates substantial inconveniences for us to enjoy our whole property the way that we have for last 8 years.

I found your response email of 22 April 2016, quite indifferent - alluding to budget constraints et al. I am sure that there is an allowance for contingency planning. Also, I fail to see your rational that it would be up to us ,the homeowners, to erect privacy screens and to plant mature trees on our property when the issue is something not on our properties, but is interfering with our families ability to enjoy our properties. Is the Town not obligated “to ensure maintenance is consistently provided through-out the Town of View Royal, for the benefit of all residents”?

Ron Stonehouse 114 Thetis Vale Cres View Royal

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Reply from Town Staff

Dear Mr. Stonehouse and Ms. Milietello,

While the Town does maintain the Six Mile Road boulevard, the land belongs to the Ministry of Transportation. The Town does this to ensure maintenance is consistently provided though-out the Town of View Royal, for the benefit of all residents. The Town, however, does not provide privacy for individual private properties on municipal or provincial Rights of Way as part of its current funding model.

Although we are not able to provide immediate assistance to your concerns for privacy we can provide several seedlings you could plant and care for on your property at no expense should you want to plan for the future. Alternatively to increase your privacy immediately I encourage you to erect a privacy screen on your property, such as planting your own mature trees within your property lines or erecting a fence as permitted in our Zoning Bylaw:

http://www.viewroyal.ca/assets/Town~Hall/Bylaws/900%20-%20Zoning%20Bylaw.pdf

Sincerely,

John Rosenberg

Thanks JR