A group of property owners on a private laneway wants council to address a “safety issue,” but ownership of the road remains a major impediment to finding any resolution.
“We have a unique problem,” Jim McKinley acknowledged last week, while describing the issue on Kumpville Drive East, off Sideroad 15 near Conestogo Lake.
McKinley is one of 10 property owners along the 485 foot laneway, several of whom are upset with one landowner on the corner of Sideroad 15, who, McKinley said, insists on placing landscaping stones and soil on the right of way.
“The owner refuses all appeals of the community and claims it is his land,” he told council.
He added the width of the road, described at the land registry office as 20 feet, has been narrowed to less than eight. To make matters worse, McKinley said, the owner allows water to run off the property onto the right of way, creating “significant ice build-up” in colder months.
The township issued an order under the Fire Code to all 10 owners on the road, directing them to provide 20 feet of clearance and to provide grading to prevent ice build-up.
According to McKinley, every owner agreed to comply except the one on the corner who created the problem.
After receiving legal advice, the township later decided the owner of the road – and not the property owners – should have been issued the order. But that just led to more confusion.
Records show the road belonged to John William Querin, who died in 1965. Clerk Patty Sinnamon told McKinley the township was unable to locate any beneficiary of Querin’s estate.
At a meeting in March, council passed a resolution it was “not prepared” to assume ownership of Kumpville Drive, but McKinley asked council last week to reconsider and then clear the right of way at the one owner’s expense.
“It really isn’t safe the way it is,” he said.
He told council now is the time to act on the matter – before there is a tragedy that results from fire trucks not being able to access the road. Fire Chief Rick Richardson confirmed the department has had a few calls in the area and had difficulty traversing the road.
Mayor John Green said the township will likely refer the matter to its lawyer and get back to McKinley.
