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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
It isn't uncommon to hear about neighbours disputing over a piece of land that borders both their properties, but Yellowknife Mayor Gord Van Tighem says the city is no different from any other on this matter.

City council recently voted to sell a plot of land to a Brock Drive resident even though his neighbours fought vigorously to prevent it. - NNSL file photo

"They happen in every city daily ... it's just the ones that end up on the laps of council that become contentious."

For Yellowknife, two overarching pieces of legislation that are used to resolve encroachment issues in the city limits. The first is the city's general plan, which outlines where the city is going for the next 5-10 years. The second is the zoning by-law, which is aimed at "orderly development" in terms of determining what goes on plots of land in the city, from the location of water and sewer pipes, to where residents can park their vehicles, to where they can play.

Van Tighem said the most common encroachment issue is not really encroachment but instead arises in situations "where people want something a little bit different from what the rules say." An example would be when a resident wants to build a fence higher than regulations permit.

Another issue often before city council involves disputes between neighbours over a city-owned piece of land. Van Tighem explained the process it that when one neighbour applies to purchase a piece of land, the other neighbour is informed about the application. From there, the decision to proceed lies with the zoning or planning development department. If either department rejects the proposal, the decision can be appealed and then it goes to council for resolution.

"That's where it gets interesting," said Van Tighem. "At that point, you may have neighbours or people who aren't even neighbours but have a familiarity with the area and not necessarily an interest that may not like it. You can get some pretty drawn out discussions."

One example of this is on Sept. 27, 2010, when city council passed first and second readings of a purchase agreement to allow a Yellowknife resident to purchase a 5.2 metre by 32 metre plot of land adjacent to his Brock Drive home. Almost a year later, Hendrick Falck's proposal to purchase the land he had been encroaching was approved by city council on Sept. 12. Throughout the process, his neighbours, Alan Udell and Adrienne Jones, opposed the proposed land purchase. Falck has a basketball net, a garden and has been using the city-owned property as a driveway. Previous owners have used the land for personal purposes, he told Yellowknifer last year.

Another dispute before city council involves neighbours on 47 Street vying over a piece of land adjacent to their properties. Markham and Tracey Breitbach, who live at 5507 47 Street, applied in 2003, the same year they bought their house, to buy a lane behind their home. The lane, which would provide an entrance point to a trail connecting Con Mine with Old Town, was not accepted by administration on April 18, 2010 at a city council meeting.

The Breitbachs also applied in 2010 to purchase an 850-square-metre-parcel of land adjacent to the lane that contains a greenhouse they're using. The greenhouse was on the land when they purchased their home. However, administration recommended the parcel of land be sold to their neighbour, George Erasmus, who first applied to purchase the land seven years earlier. The matter hasn't yet been back before council for a third and final reading.

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