It took more than seven decades, but Grey Highlands has finally solved a tricky encroachment issue in the community of Eugenia.
At its meeting on May 3, Grey Highlands council approved a staff report that would finalize the closure and sale of a portion of the Kinburn Street road allowance in Eugenia to close out the matter, which has been on the local government's to-do list since before amalgamation.
“This has been in the works for 73 years,” said Coun. Paul Allen. “It’s been a long process.”
Since the 1950s, the main buildings and accessory structures of two property owners have been encroaching on the unopened Kinburn Street road allowance. The property owners first approached Artemesia Township (pre-amalgamation) about the issue in 1992. The issue has remained on the docket of the local government (now Grey Highlands) since that time.
After many years of conversations and proposals, the end result saw Grey Highlands declare parts of the road allowance surplus and the municipality initiated a process to sell parts of the road allowance to the encroaching property owners. Rezoning and the approval of a severance consent were required as part of the process.
The final step was council’s unanimous approval of a bylaw to bring the entire process to a close. Staff reported to council that after all expenses for surveys and appraisals were calculated, the municipality ended up with a surplus of $28,479.88 on the sale. This money will be placed in reserve.
“Kudos to staff for fixing it,” said Deputy Mayor Dane Nielsen after the bylaw was approved.
The full background and history of the issue can be found in the staff report here.
