Rob Machuk, who moved to the village of Ryley in January 2022 with his wife Michelle, has started a petition for the removal of what he describes as an eyesore, which appeared next door to his home. The modular structure was placed on the property beside the Machuk’s in late July.
“It just ruins the whole street, not to mention my backyard. All those windows are staring into my backyard. It’s rude and totally invasive. The privacy just went downhill from what we thought we had,” Machuk said.
The petition description says the image of the once-picturesque street has been tarnished.
“In the heart of Ryley, Alberta, the serenity of our beloved community has been disrupted. What once was a picturesque residential area has now been diminished to a semblance of a trailer park, because of the decision to park an unsightly bunk house mobile unit directly beside our home. Peering through the windows of this structure, the intrusion into our daily lives is overwhelming, turning our household’s tranquility into a thing of the past,” the petition says.
Glen Hamilton-Brown, Ryley Chief Administrative Officer, expanded on what the structure is, and said that the owner will be doing a full renewal of the property.
“The structure is not a ‘mobile home’ by definition. It is a ‘modular structure,’ (though) it does look like a run-down mobile home. It is a relatively new development that started with the internal renovation of the primary structure (the house) last fall. The primary residence on the property has been derelict and unoccupied for quite a number of years and the owner is now carrying out a full renewal development of the whole property,” said Hamilton-Brown.
Machuk said the arrival of the structure came as a total surprise.
“About two months ago they did send out a notice for the sea can, which was okay because they were going to put it over there out of sight. From what the Village says, this came in with no permits and it was a surprise to everybody,” he said.
Machuk went to the Village with his concerns first, and the petition was put up on Wednesday, July 24. Machuk’s wife Michelle said the Village has not been able to give many details on what is happening next to their property, due to privacy.
“There’s a privacy law in place where we’re not allowed to know anything, but when you have a development permit, it should be put somewhere for people to see what you’re doing. The Village is telling us that it’s none of our business what’s going on over there,” she said.
Hamilton-Brown confirmed that the Machuk’s had contacted the Village inquiring after what was going on regarding the structure, and he said the Village is making sure all rules and regulations are being met.
“We believe in freedom of expression and resident input is important to Council and Administration of the Village. As well, the protection of privacy is also of priority importance to the Village. So, we were limited in what we can share with them and others about the details of the development permit. The Village is actively engaged with the developer and will ensure compliance with all Land Use, Development, and Subdivision rules, regulations, and bylaws. We appreciate the opinions and observations of the surrounding residents to help us ensure that proper compliance is followed by the developer, especially on a day-to-day basis between the periods when we conduct compliance inspections,” Hamilton-Brown said.
Machuk said that the land use bylaw indicates that added structures must be less than 40 per cent the size of the structure already on the property, and says the modular structure is more than 40 percent the size of the house already there.
Kari Janzen
Staff Reporter
