Containers needed to keep goods secure

Corman Park council spent a considerable amount of time at a meeting this summer discussing how to restrict the number of steel shipping containers in the RM, noting how ugly they are.

However, there was no discussion on why so many taxpayers are now adding these containers to their property, and how to address this need along with balancing esthetics.

No longer can people leave their machinery, equipment, tools and recreation vehicles out in the open. Vandalism is a growing fact. The shipping containers are an excellent deterrent, as they pose a more difficult challenge to break into than a shop.

Instead of implementing restrictions on the number of containers allowed, a more productive discussion would be on their visibility. If a property owner has 80 acres and chooses to have 10 containers that are out of sight, there should be no problem.

If “ugliness” is a consideration, it seems beyond comprehension that at the same meeting council approved the building of an industrial seed cleaning, grain storage and seed sales operation in the middle of over 60 rural residences. When residents voiced concerns that this operation did not fit into the location and would be visible from numerous homes, the applicant said they would plant a row of trees.

Yes both a shipping container and a seed cleaning plant are ugly, but the container doesn’t cause noise, dust or potential health issues, or increase the rodent population, risk accidents due to increased traffic on an already busy highway, decrease surrounding property value, or impact the quality of life of people in the area. Cheryl Laliberte, Corman Park