Bonfield’s council is reviewing its by-laws regarding trailers and RV’s.
Currently, recreation vehicles are not permitted on vacant land within the Township of Bonfield. Council is considering changing this by implementing a licensing system. Still in the preliminary stages, staff will create a draft by-law with licensing provisions.
“Trailer by-laws have become a topic of heated debate in many northern Ontario towns,” noted Ann Carr, Bonfield’s Planning Administrator. She informed council that many municipalities have been reviewing regulations in recent years, and Bonfield is taking time to reflect as well.
See: Can I use my RV as my dwelling? Bonfield provides all the answers
Last month a Townhall meeting was held at the Community Centre, and trailers and RVs were hot topics. Residents also participated in an anonymous survey. The results leaned toward allowing trailers and RVs on vacant land if licensed and regulated.
Throughout Bonfield, trailers are only allowed on property with a dwelling, for 120 days in any calendar year, or in a commercial campground. Trailers can also be used when a resident is building a home.
See: Share your voice at Bonfield’s Townhall Meeting on March 7
“Spending a summer in a trailer has become a more affordable retreat for many people,” Carr emphasized, “and municipalities are looking for a way to manage their use.”
Revising the current by-laws could better address proper management of septic and grey water, where trailers are allowed so as “to maintain the character of the neighbourhood,” and whether the licensing revenue could offset municipal services that are not being taxed due to the trailer or RV having no assessment.
‘The community is still very divided on the trailer issue,’ Bonfield’s CAO, Nicky Kunkle, acknowledged. “It will be a challenge to present something that will please the majority of the township.”
David Briggs is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of BayToday, a publication of Village Media. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.
