TNRD board to revisit RV bylaw after community meeting

“We looked at neighbouring districts. The Columbia-Shuswap district has a couple of areas within their jurisdiction that actually do have provisions for recreational vehicles. So we looked at those bylaws and we discussed them. We discussed what amendments could possibly be made to them to better suit the situation in our region and throughout the Thompson Nicola Regional District.”

TNRD Directors Carol Schaffer and Sally Watson attended the meeting, and made notes throughout. Afterward, Schaffer says she felt the meeting facilitated some solid discussion.

“In the meantime, we’ve got information from the meeting that Sally and I can take back to the TNRD, and see if there’s any way that we can revisit the bylaw, and come up with some solutions if possible,” she says. “But that’s something that has to be worked on.”

By the end of the gathering, Coles says he felt confident their concerns were at least heard by the TNRD directors, and would be passed on.

“I hope that they will convey the emotion and the reaction of the community to their board and that the board will have the good, common sense to heed the will of the community and stop these evictions.”

The meeting had a sense of urgency and concern, according to Coles, due to a displaced couple living in an RV outside of Barriere who were recently contacted about eviction.

“They (TNRD representatives) had promised us that they would convey these messages to the board as quickly as possible,” Coles says, “Like I say, time is running out for this poor couple near Barriere that are being told to be off their land by Sunday. The consensus was that there is an awful lot of people that volunteered from the entire region to go and stand with these people on Sunday. So should it come to that, it’s going to be a very interesting situation unfolding outside of Barriere.”

As far as solutions to eviction issues, Schaffer says something might be able to be done to help people under financial strain living in RVs.

“It’s something that we would have to apprise them of, and see what their solution to it is. But before we even get to the board level, we have to speak to staff to see what avenues we have to go through to get to an amendment.”

Schaffer notes that the original release which brought about many of the concerns was not centered on just the North Thompson, but addressed the whole district.

“It’s not the TNRD picking on the North Thompson,” she says. “It’s region-wide that we’re looking at. And it’s complaint-driven. We’ve only got one bylaw officer and he’s got a large area to cover, so I don’t think they go looking for trouble.”

Wanting to look into a way to remedy the situation, Schaffer says she and Watson will likely speak to staff this coming week, or during meetings at the Union of BC Municipalities convention the following week.

Coles says they will be waiting to hear back from the TNRD about solutions as they move forward, and will take their advocacy beyond the Facebook group.

“In the interim, we came to the conclusion that we will form a proper committee,” he says. “The community is right behind us and they want us to forge ahead.”

by Dylana Milobar

TNRD board to revisit RV bylaw after community meeting

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