Should you be able to park any vehicle in your driveway?
Complaint forces Vetmobile out of Richmond Hill neighbourhood

YorkRegion.com
July 19, 2015
By Kim Zarzour

Should you have the right to decide what type of vehicle you are allowed to park in your own driveway?

That’s the bone of contention in a dispute between veterinarian Barbara Winslow and The Town of Richmond Hill.

Winslow operates the Vetmobile as part of her house call veterinarian business that services York Region.

She relies on a de-comissioned ambulance that is filled with her equipment and which she parks in the driveway of her Oak Ridges home.

Municipal rules, however, say the vehicle is too big, and it must go.

The town has received complaints and because bylaws state commercial motor vehicles can not be “parked on any lot unless parked entirely within a wholly enclosed building”, she has been asked to move it elsewhere.

That bylaw, Winslow says, is “sadly outdated” and presents a significant barrier to small and home-based businesses.

“I don't think our town wants to be seen as oppositional to small business,” said Winslow, adding regulations should depend on driveway size, lot size and shared property lines.

Traveling around her neighbourhood, Winslow said she has seen many vehicles with commercial licenses and regularly spots plumber and electrician vans, some with ladders on top, parked in residential areas.

That’s because the bylaw is “complaint-driven” in Richmond Hill, a common approach in most municipalities in the GTA, according to Ana Bassios, the town’s commissioner of planning and regulatory services.

“Generally speaking, we are not actively driving around looking for people doing something wrong,” she said. “People don’t tend to have a problem with smaller vehicles or something unobtrusive like a van. I understand that a mobile vet service would be much valued in the community but what we’re trying to do is reflect community values. If there is a level of tolerance and neighbours are generally not offended, then nothing happens...We try to find a balance.”

But Winslow believes that approach is “inherently inequitable...and a tool of malice. Either you say it’s an issue and crack down on all, or you figure out why it’s an issue and make an amendment.”

An online petition to change the bylaw has gained 186 signatures from throughout York Region and beyond, many with comments supporting the vet.

“It's ironic that the largest "employer", small business, can be brought down by a single specious complaint about an "offensive" vehicle,” wrote Phill Senior.

“It's time the law changed to reflect the people who live in the community. In our neighbourhood there are many vehicles used to make a living and many small businesses operated from home. This is the engine that drives the local economy.”

Ross Toms said bylaws have not kept up with reality.

“They need to change," he said. "Our neighbourhoods are changing drastically and many people are working from their homes these days.”

Winslow said her next-door neighbour supports her, but believes someone else decided to “target” her.

She needs her vehicle stored nearby because she is often called to emergencies after-hours, she said.

Winslow also worries that the vehicle may be vandalized if it is not within her sight, as it may appear to hold drugs enticing to abusers. As well, she keeps it plugged in to her home’s power source to maintain temperature – in winter for heating and in summer to power the ceiling vent fan – to ensure her inventory, mediation, enzymes etc, don’t bake or freeze.

Winslow is building a vet clinic in King and will eventually be able to park the vehicle there, but it won’t open until October.

“I understand there needs to be limits...but it comes down to someone else gets to dictate what you do with your property.”

Local councillor Tom Muench supports her, saying the town is acting “coldheartedly".

“I feel for her. Here’s someone trying to make a living in a very tough market.

“I understand some people don’t want to look at these things...and incidents exist where large vehicles including recreational can be an agitation, but the financial and quality of life ramifications of the bylaw as well as the creation of the mean-spirited neighbour needs to be addressed,” he added.

“Do we really want to be a police state?”

Winslow’s petition proposes the bylaw be amended to determine a maximum wheel base allowed based on the length of the driveway in question, to alleviate concerns about a vehicle crowding a neighbour's property (such as in a shared townhouse driveway) by specifying a minimum clearance from a shared property line.

“I would like to see this bylaw reviewed and updated to reflect the modern business climate.”

Mayor Dave Barrow isn’t so sure.

“Our last few requests have been for tow trucks, which were denied,” he said, referring to a petition brought forward by local councillor Greg Beros.

“I do not think an update is needed as the residents still want their neighbourhoods to look attractive, not like a commercial area where you see a parking lot full of commercial vehicles.”

John DeVries the town’s director of planning and regulatory services, said the bylaw is trying to maintain the residential character of the neighbourhood and reduce vehicle obstruction to adjacent properties.

“If you’ve got a large vehicle, depending on where it’s parked, it could present safety issues - vision, obstruction or distraction - and there’s a concern about protecting property values.”

DeVries said the issue also raises another concern - does it give some businesses an unfair advantage, to keep advertising messages in residents’ vision 24-7?

It’s up to municipal council to determine whether it wants to maintain a reactive approach to bylaw enforcement.

“As the nature of the municipality changes, the need to review incidents is becoming more frequent. When it was smaller there was not as much need but with more and more businesses, complaints are becoming more frequent.”

Elsewhere in York Region, the approach to residential parking varies but in most cases, larger commercial vehicles are not allowed unless enclosed in a garage and, like Richmond Hill, enforcement is primarily reactive or complaint-driven.

Elsewhere in York Region, the approach to residential parking varies but in most cases, larger commercial vehicles are not allowed unless enclosed in a garage and, like Richmond Hill, enforcement is primarily reactive or complaint-driven.