The Rural Voice, 1983-07, Page 23(dFi)Haldwan
OFA REPORT
Problems created
with neighbours
This month's report is a background
paper prepared by Johannes Jarvalt,
lawyer for the Ontario Federation of
Agriculture. The information should help
to make farmers aware of problems our
farming operations can create with our
neighbours. Conversely, it gives us some
idea of the rights we have to "enjoy our
property without nuisance."
In a general farming context, we are
primarily concerned with private nuis-
ance and not public nuisance.
A private nuisance can be described as
an unreasonable interference with the
use or enjoyment of land or some right
over or in connection with land or with
the health, comfort or convenience of,
the occupier of the land. Damages may
be actual, prospective or presumed but
must be material or substantial.
The courts must essentially balance
the reasonable use of land by one person
with the decrease in enjoyment the use
of the property produces for that person's
neighbour, and in some cases, the
community as a whole. What is a
reasonable use of land is usually
determined by an examination of the
uses of Kind in the immediate vicinity. It
has been held that because the corn -
plainer "came to the nuisance" does not
affect his right to object, although a
person living in an industrial area would
be expected to put up with a great deal
more than one in a residential area. The
right to complain is also not affected by
the fact that the farmer's business is a
lawful one and beneficial to the commun-
ity or by the fact that it is carried on in a
reasonable manner and with care.
The following list of activities are
examples of recent cases which have
held those activities to be private
nuisances: asphalt plant emitting noise;
roots of trees growing into neighbour's
land and destroying lawn; golf balls from
adjacent golf course entering land; light
furnace oil seeping from underground
storage tank into neighbour's elevator
shafts; gravel and quarrying operations
with dust, noise and exhaust fumes;
training and stabling of horses with
noise, odours and attraction of flies and
rats; electricity transformer station af-
fecting reception and transmission of
community antenna television system
signals; reasonable construction of of-
fice building increasing snow load on
neighbouring building; electricity trans-
mission line and tower causing interfer-
ence with radio and television reception,
the production of noise or sounds, heavy
machinery or lumbering operations caus-
ing muddying of brook and well since
IN THE NEWS
brook water percolated through rock
fissures; breaking of city water -main
flooding basement; and damage to
orchards from road salt applied by
highway officials.
It is for the above reasons that some
U.S. states have passed "right -to -farm"
statutes that prohibit court action for
farming nuisances. Court action would,
however, still be permitted for negligence
in farming.
New Zurich vet
Dr. Steven Wilson has joined the
veterinary practice of Drs. Coxon, Leitch
and Thiel in Zurich. The recent graduate
of Guelph Veterinary College grew up in
the little hamlet of Apsley, population
400, north of Peterborough.
Before beginning vet training, Wilson
worked on Canada Packers Shurgain
farm near Maple, assisting with nutri-
tional and pharmaceutical trials on the
farm's dairy and swine herds, beef feed
lot, heavy turkeys, turkey and chicken
broilers and layers. All those groups can
be found within a short distance of
Zurich. However, Dr. Wilson particularly
appreciates the opportunity to work with
large animals.r'
SUMMER SPECIALS
Shower Stalls
30" X 30" X 74", one piece
plastic walls. 2" ABS drain
outlets.
White 3266.02.1
1 099,
Laundry Tub
Complete with snap
in legs plus level
adjusters. (Faucets
and drain pipe extra)
3268.706 1
-�i
'7�-_
Single Tub 1 9 99
Come out and see our wide selection of whirlpools,
tubs and showers all on display.
White China Toilet
Reverse trap toilet. Seat extra.
unlined
5995
Vanity Sink
Enamelled steel with colour mat
ched vinyl rim. 4" faucet holes.
OFront overflow and soap dish.
35s,
ELDEC 1A'M!LL E LTL
LOCATION: 7 miles north of Durham
and 2 miles west of Hwy 6
Marre,Cmd
Mon to Fri. 8 a.m. to 6 pm.
Sat. 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Evenings: Mon . Wed. and Fri. 7 p.m. to 9 p
R.R. 2, DURHAM, ONT. 369.2144
VIS4
�I
THE RURAL VOICE, JULY 1983 PG 21