The showdown that arose over a miniature saloon in Penhold has reached new heights.
Penhold resident Ken McCarthy built a miniature saloon for his yard three months ago and has been battling for the structure's survival ever since.
McCarthy ran into complications with the Municipal Planning Commission (MPC) which sent him a letter indicating he had until the end of July to remove the saloon.
It also denied his permit application.
McCarthy filled out his application inaccurately when he referred to the saloon as a tourist attraction, which is not an allowable use for a property zoned residential in Penhold.
He made another error when he built the saloon before going ahead with the application and inspection, which were both required due to its size – more than 100 square feet.
McCarthy plans to use the structure to display some of his personal collections and to stand beside a miniature church that he built prior to the saloon.
He and his wife, Lynn, had discussed putting up a general store and selling goods out of it but that would have involved rezoning their property to commercial, so they decided against it.
McCarthy was given a deadline of July 31 to remove the saloon and if he did not, the issue would be turned over to the development officer for further action to be taken.
He did not meet the deadline and the saloon is currently still standing.
“I feel like I'm being bullied,” said McCarthy.
“I made a mistake when I did not take out a permit for the saloon but I was not expecting this to explode in the way that it did.”
McCarthy said that another issue he was facing with the MPC was that the saloon's appearance was not similar enough to the main building on the property, a regulation that falls under the Land Use Bylaw.
“It is still standing and it is not going anywhere,” said McCarthy. “I built it and I am going to keep it.”
Penhold mayor Dennis Cooper said the matter has been turned over to a development officer, who is now in conversation with McCarthy.
“He can't build a structure on his residential property and call it a tourist attraction,” said Cooper.
“He asked permission to build it after it was already completed. The MPC has no choice but to say it is not legal and needs to be removed.”
Cooper said the structure was originally zoned as commercial but was changed to a tourist attraction.
“He did not follow the correct procedure, so we had to take the proper measurements to resolve this,” Cooper said.
McCarthy was told by the MPC that if he wanted to retain the saloon as a storage shed, the building would have to be refaced to match the house. As well, a new development permit would be needed and under the bylaws that application would have to wait six months, he said.
Meanwhile, McCarthy received a letter from Tricia Willis, planning and development officer, on Aug. 23 informing McCarthy the matter is now in the hands of the local Penhold Community Peace Officers.
The letter explained town peace officers will now be patrolling his saloon shed on a regular basis.
“This doesn't change anything,” said McCarthy. “It's not going down.”
