By Tyler Marr

Judge sides with R.M., orders couple to shutter campground at Turtle Lake

Jan 3, 2019 | 1:00 PM

A couple with a campground on Turtle Lake will have to tear down their development after a Queen’s Bench judge sided with the rural municipality’s concerns about a lack of permits.

Gerald and Julie Russett own a 71.31-acre parcel of land in the Rural Municipality of Mervin on the east side of Turtle Lake. The chunk of land is located in the Conservation District of the R.M.’s zoning map.

A development officer with the R.M. concluded the couple was operating a campground on the property since 2012 and in June 2015, the R.M. requested a third-party inspector and the public health inspector inspect the property and report their findings back to them. 

The report found there were 23 campers in individual campsites with power supplied, 15 of the 23 sites had a water supply, and a sign was posted with a list of the campsite rules. This led the R.M. to conclude the couple was operating a seasonal campground but without the proper development permits required by the rural government’s zoning bylaw.

After letters from the R.M.’s lawyer, the couple responded on Aug. 27, 2015, indicating they have 19 camp stalls, with half of them powered and none with water supply. The couple said the sign was erected “for the benefit of friends and extended family,” and that they had purchased the land 20 years ago with the intention of sharing it with their seven children and 28 grandchildren and the stalls were made to accommodate for family visits.

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The R.M. advised the couple that whether the campground was developed for public or private use, they still needed to apply for development permits.

On April 2, 2016, the respondents completed a development permit application for a discretionary use permit and paid a $200 fee. The R.M. refused the application because the respondents did not include a site plan drafted by a Saskatchewan land surveyor in their application.

The R.M. then issued an Order to Stop Development on June 15, 2016, ordering the Russetts to “discontinue” their campground. On that same day, the rural government issued an Enforcement Order directing the campground to “be removed immediately and restore the land, buildings and premises to its condition immediately before the undertaking of the development within 90 days of this notice.” 

Aside from acknowledging on Aug. 3, 2016, they received the two orders, the Russetts did nothing until they were served with a court order to comply. 

Gerald filed an affidavit in response confirming there were 23 campers on the property but most vehicles are stored on the property. On average, there will be about five to seven campers in use by the family on a weekend over the summer, increasing to nine or 10 on a holiday long weekend. The affidavit claimed the 19 sites are not for public use, only for family members and no fees are charged. 

The judge found the R.M. entitled to the court orders. While acknowledging the campsites were not seasonal and solely for family use, they were found in breach of the zoning bylaw. If the sites were seasonal, the couple lacked the required development permits.

“Certainly, the creation of the 19 campsites, laying of gravel, and providing electrical power to half of them, as was done by the Russetts on the property, constitute development. Thus, unless this development is prohibited, the respondents were required to apply for a development permit,” Justice A.R. Rothery wrote in the decision.

As the property lies within the Conservation District zoning, additional rules must be followed. While the judge found the family built its home in accordance with these rules, the permit uses are specifically defined, and “the 19 campsites and electrical power supplies are not uses accessory to the main use, being their house, the campsites and electrical power supplies are prohibited uses.”

The Russetts were ordered to immediately discontinue operating a campground on the parcel of land by no later than April 30, 2019;  to remove any and all electrical services and water supplies installed on the sites on the property, and to restore the property to its condition prior to developing the campsites on it. The R.M. was also granted costs in the amount of $1,500.

tyler.marr@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @JournoMarr