No way home
Property owners in Stellarton fear they won’t be able to build on lot with access cut off by walking trail
Kayla and Robert Shakness were looking forward to building their dream home on a piece of property that’s been in their family for 86 years.
But that ambition is in jeopardy since they no longer have access to their land.
“Essentially the Town of Stellarton has locked us out of our five-acre lot due to putting in a walking trail,” said Kayla.
The property, part of which is located in Stellarton and part in the Municipality of Pictou County, is located off Auburn Avenue on what has always been known as St. Joseph Street.
However, because no houses exist on the street, it hasn’t been maintained by the town for a number of years. As a result, when the town was planning to build a portion of the Trans Canada Trail from the Pictou County Wellness Centre to Auburn Avenue, the road was used as part of the trail.
Construction began earlier this spring.
This leaves the Shakness family, who currently live in Hopewell, without access to their property, which is the second lot in from Auburn Avenue.
And they want to know how that happened without landowners being advised. “No one in my husband’s family was contacted to let know that a walking trail was going to be built on the only access to this land,” she said.
According to the Shakness family, the street was not closed in accordance with the Municipal
Government Act, which states that a public hearing must take place, and must be advertised.
Roland Burek, the town’s planning director, said he doesn’t recall a public meeting taking place to close the road during his 15 years of working with the town. He believes it hasn’t been maintained by the town for at least 20 years.
He said in his view it’s not a street since it’s not maintained as a street by the town; it would have to be upgraded for houses to be constructed.
“The bottom line is I cannot issue a permit legally on that road,” he said.
Stephen Kirincich has lived on the corner of Auburn Avenue and what used to be St. Joseph Street for several decades,
and he said St. Joseph Street has existed for more than 100 years. He said the street is clearly labelled on land surveys of his property when he purchased it and a later survey done in 1998.
He said several other property owners also have lots there, and no longer have access to their land now that the trail has been constructed.
Town engineer Bob Funke said to be used again as a street, it would have to be widened and a stronger base put in. He said room exists to put the trail to the side of a gravel road.
“As it stands now, it’s a walking path,” he said, but if enlarged, it would provide vehicle access. “I would be happy with gravel lane status. It’s adequate for a single family and the town would provide plowing.”
He estimates it would cost about $14,400 to upgrade the existing trail to a gravel road. “It’s a small job,” he said.
Robert’s mother Diana currently owns the property, and she’s in the process of transferring the deed to her son and his wife. Kayla said Diana is devastated that her son and his family might not be able to build there. “It was really, really heartbreaking to see that look on her face.”
A house that was located there was torn down about 30 years ago. Kayla said her family camps on the piece of land every summer, and their two children enjoy picking apples from an old tree. They wanted to start clearing land this summer, hoping to build a house next year.
Kayla said it has sentimental value. “That piece of land has always meant a lot to us. Robert’s family’s been there for generations and generations. There are so many memories there.”
The Shakness family contacted the owner of the property next to theirs, which is located on Auburn Avenue, to see if they would grant a right of way or if they could purchase it. However, the 12.5-acre lot, owned by a metal fabrication company based in Quebec, is too costly and Kayla said while the owner was sympathetic to their situation, wasn’t able to give them right-of-way access because it could interfere with the sale of the property.
Kayla said she’s lost a lot of sleep over the issue, and they’ve spent a considerable amount of money on lawyer fees trying to resolve it.
“We have to come up with a workable solution,” said Coun. Bryan Knight.
“What bothers me is these people paid their taxes and were not publicly told the road was going to be shut down,” said Coun.
Garry Pentz. I think we gotta work with them. I think the town has responsibility here. I think it’s terrible the way things happened here.”
“We’ve heard what you have to say and we definitely want to work with you,” Mayor Danny MacGillivray told the family.
Council members agreed to discuss the matter during the capital budget process taking place this month, deferring any decisions until after those talks.