A Kelowna family has started a petition asking the City of Kelowna to allow them to park their wheel chair assessable van at the front door of their home.
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December 06, 2015 - 4:35 PM
KELOWNA – A Kelowna family wants to be able to park their wheel chair accessible van in their front yard but the City of Kelowna insists they need to apply for a costly bylaw variance to do so.
A petition has been started in an effort to “eliminate” the need for a variance to allow Roy Penrose, who is quadriplegic, easy access to the side-loading van from his home.
A neighbour complained to the city and as a result the family were told they would need to file for a bylaw variance at a cost of about $700.00 so they could park the van on their property, something which the petition claims would “cause extra stress and financial strain.”
Ann Penrose says on the website GoPetition that Roy was in a devastating accident in 2011, adding he has a dangerous syndrome called autonomic dysreflexia making it important for the family van to be parked directly at the front door of their home on Clayton Crescent.
Unobstructed access to the home’s front door conforms to guidelines from the Social Planning and Research Council of B.C., according to the petition.
“We feel the City of Kelowna is ignorant to the concerns and needs of people with disabilities,” Ann says in the online document. “Please reduce the ongoing stress and emotional turmoil which this is causing Roy Penrose and family.”
The petition, which was posted today, Dec. 6, has received 61 signatures as of this afternoon.
To contact the reporter for this story, email Howard Alexander at halexander@infonews.ca. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.
News from © iNFOnews, 2015