A letter from the District of Lake Country has the residents of two RV parks up in arms.
The letter recommends that tenants of Sage Valley Resort & RV Park and Wood Lake Terrace RV & Campground find a new place to live.
“I am not leaving, I have no intentions, they are going to have to carry me out of here in a box,” said Peter Richards, a resident at Wood Lake Terrace RV & Campground.
Richards has lived in his home for three weeks and says he was shocked to receive the letter.
“Lake Country needs to come to the table with something besides, ‘We are turfing all you people out, we want you to leave,’” said Richards.
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The District of Lake Country declined an interview, saying that it would prefer to meet with residents first, but said that the decision was made due to safety concerns on the properties after a number of fires.
The district also notes that zoning is for campgrounds, not for RV parks, meaning that tenants are allowed to stay for 30 days at a time; however, many residents have lived here for years.
“We can’t afford to live out there. We are retired, we have a retirement income, how do you afford $2,000 a month? You can’t do that,” said Rob Hooykaas, a resident at Wood Lake Terrace RV & Campground.
Hooykaas has lived on the property for nine years and is concerned that this will add to the country’s housing crisis.
“There is something wrong with them, and why is it against everything we see on the news about the shortage of housing?” said Hooykaas
“There are two parks, that’s about 60 units.”
The District of Lake Country is scheduling a meeting on Wednesday with residents to discuss its concerns, including water and septic system issues, construction without permits and expired permits, fire department concerns, electrical code infractions and sewerage complaints. It also says the property has no business licence.
“Lack of fire extinguishers was another thing in that,” said Hooykaas. “There is a fire extinguisher (outside), and if you open the door, there is a fire extinguisher right there.”
Hooyaas also has two smoke detectors and a carbon monoxide detector in his home.
A notice on the title has been placed on the properties because of the unresolved issues, and now the tenants are looking to the district and their landlords to achieve compliance in hopes of living here for years to come.
