BARACHOIS, N.B. – For summer vacationers, parking an RV on a piece of land is a good way to save on high property taxes — only the land is taxed.
Duaine Lewis has parked his RV on a lot in Barachois for the last 20 years. His daughter’s trailer sits just a few meters away on the same lot.
“You can generally buy a trailer cheaper than you can build a cottage, and you can move it around,” said Lewis.
But the practice is causing some concerns in the neighbouring village of Cap-Pelé.
Last week, village council decided to tighten up its bylaw allowing RVs to be parked on owned land. The village manager said the move was in response to a formal complaint filed by the a homeowner who complained too many RVs were parked on the lot next door.
Lewis says if people don’t like RVs parked close to where they live, there are ways to deal with it.
“That’s up to the community if they want to set regulations so that you can’t do that,” he said. “But it’s never been an issue here that I know of.”
Bea Richford, Lewis’ real estate agent, lives year-round in the house right across the street from where he parks his RV.
She says a growing number of people are choosing to park an RV on owned land, rather than building a cottage along the coast. But she says it doesn’t bother her at all.
“When they come with their RVs we celebrate.”
Meanwhile, some neighbors in the area are concerned that the RVs are lowering their property values, but Richford disagrees.
“I tell all of my clients if you are going to live in a rural area, this is the kind of living you can expect,” she said. “There’s mobile homes, there’s vacant lots and beautiful houses, so a little bit of a mix of everything.”
Cap-Pelé now plans to restrict the number of RVs allowed on a certain sized lot. While council works out the details, it also plans to lobby the provincial government to lower taxes on cottage properties in the area to entice more people to build instead of parking their summer retreats.
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