Glen Walter waterfront owner able to rebuild homes

In this July 2015 Google Maps photo, three waterfront homes hug the edge of County Road 2 in Glen Walter, Ont. overlooking the St. Lawrence River. The county has agreed to sell the portion of land the homes sit on in order to allow the owner to build them on their existing footprint. The homes were enroaching on the county road right-of-way. (Google Maps via Newswatch Group)

GLEN WALTER – A South Glengarry family will be able to rebuild their recently purchased shoreline homes along the St. Lawrence River.

The county agreed Monday to sell three pieces of land along the south side of County Road 2 near Page Drive to Leon Sabourin – the father of the current homeowners, Justin Sabourin and Kelsey White.

The very small parcels are actually the outlines of the existing homes that are sitting on the municipal right-of-way (there are three homes and a fourth building on one lot) and have three municipal addresses (18386, 18388 and 18390). The three homes are encroaching on the county land roughly 1.2-2.9 meters (4-9.5 feet).

Leon Sabourin had made a presentation to council in May asking for permission to rebuild the three homes on the property on their exact same footprint.

The Sabourins were faced with a challenge because they can’t sever the homes, nor can they move the footprint of the homes closer to the river and off the right-of-way, given the confined space of the lot, sandwiched between the road and the river.

The land will be sold to Sabourin at fair market value after an appraisal.

After consulting with its lawyer, the county is selling just the outline of the homes in order to resolve the problem while minimizing its liability.