Re: Serious effects of Sidney zoning bylaw loom: resident (Letters, June 6) and Owners dispair zoning change (News, June 1)
I am sad to hear what the Town of Sidney has planned for my neighbourhood by rezoning properties.
I am worried how it will affect me and my neighbours.
Am I correct in understanding the town is not legally required to inform the homeowners, in writing, that their land is to be rezoned and their homes will become non-conforming?
Could this lack of action, on the town’s behalf towards its property owners, be considered legally right but morally wrong?
Is this how the town treats property owners and taxpayers? Some have lived in their homes more than 20 years and are now elderly or not in the best of health.
Will a sophisticated developer buy one house and rent it to bad tenants, causing neighbouring home values to plummet? Will this be a developer’s gain and our loss?
When an owner decides to sell his home, will a buyer be able to get a mortgage if the house is deemed non-conforming?
If a home is destroyed by fire or earthquake, will the owner be allowed to rebuild another single family dwelling, as it will be non-conforming?
Will an insurance company insure a home that is non-conforming?
If an elderly resident leaves his or her home to a son or daughter, will that person be able to add on to the old home or build another in its place, as it will be non-conforming?
Will the town refuse to give me a building permit for a garage, a sunroom or a deck?
Lu Ann Fraser
Sidney