(video) at http://www.chbc.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=13054Web posted on Friday, 21 July 2006 Roads and alleys are things that many businesses take for granted, but a Vernon company has discovered that access to them can disappear with the stroke of a pen. The business owners are threatening to sue the city over a land swap that took them completely by surprise. And the deal has cost them the alley they have relied on for decades.
By Scott NeufeldFriday, July 21, 2006 http://www.dailycourier.ca/article_382.php
After 35 years in business, Fermco Rental and Sales may be forced to undertake major renovations simply because they decided to take a vacation.Sally Ferris, who owns the building along with her husband Roy, returned from holiday to find that the city had sold the back lane meaning that soon they will have to seal off the back of their building. The renovation would cost many thousands of dollars and would force them to load and unload through their front door, she said.“We got home and along comes a Vernon employee asking where we wanted the telephone pole moved,” Sally said. “He said (the lane) was being closed.”The couple are pursuing legal action because they say they weren’t warned about the planned lane closure. Sally said that the city should have sent them a notification letter since the closure only affects their building directly. The only warning, she said, were newspaper ads that ran while they were away.“When we went to City Hall we were told it was a done deal,” she said. “It’s been a very frustrating thing to put it mildly.”Adding to the frustration is the fact that the couple had attempted to purchase the lane from the city about 10 years ago but were turned down, Sally said.City of Vernon chief administrative officer Leon Gous said the laws governing road closures have changed over the past 10 years. He said it’s no longer possible for an individual owner to block a sale.“These days (roads are) treated a lot like regular property,” he said. “Roads can be sold to anyone, not necessarily one of the adjacent property owners.”Although he said the situation is unfortunate, Vernon’s chief administrative officer Leon Gous said there is nothing more that can be done. He said the land has already changed hands and the city can’t snatch it back.“The bylaws have passed; the property is transferred,” he said. “I don’t know if a huge amount can be done with reversing that.”Gous said the lane closure was done out of necessity because the Ministry of Transportation is looking to widen Highway 6. He said the property owners who now own the lane traded some of the front of their property so that a second left turn lane can be added for cars heading on to 25th Avenue.By advertising the sale and the closure several times in the newspaper, the city adhered to the legal requirements for public notice, Gous said. Whether or not a letter was sent directly to Fermco, he said he doesn’t know.City staff did make contact with the manager of the building, but Gous said he doesn’t know if they spoke directly to the owners.“I guess (city staff) felt at the time that there was sufficient contact,” he said. “In retrospect, I don’t know if the outcome would have been a lot different.”The Ferris’ have hired a lawyer to try and find a solution. Jay Hack said that there are a number of different legal options available to the couple.“This will take some time but hopefully there is some room for negotiation,” Hack said.
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