Drones, Bylaws & Harassment: The Full Story of Mayor Thorne-Rochon's Neighbourhood Dispute
Ongoing dispute escalated into questionable ethical and legal territory after Thorne-Rochon was elected.
Note: I did reach out to Mrs. Thorne-Rochon for a comment on this story, confirm these facts and to hear her side of events. Unfortunately she has not responded. All facts in this story have been verified by myself in official emails, correspondence and formal complaints shared with me privately.
When I first heard Steve Wynn’s story, I was shocked at the revelation that he had been subject to a municipal investigation involving drones.
The story became incredibly serious when Steve told me that this investigation was likely launched by his longtime neighbour, Kathleen Thorne-Rochon.
I spent a lot of time speaking with Steve to understand the entire situation and verifying many facts. When I first reported on this story a few weeks ago, Steve was still subject to an ongoing investigation with the municipality, so understandably he wanted to remain anonymous.
Since then, his file has been closed. But not after he and his wife had to once again endure extraordinary harassment from the municipality.
Steve was already upset that the municipality had improperly surveyed his land with drones (as was I). But when the CAO announced last week that his case was unique and the only time such a practice was used for a bylaw investigation, his anger rightly turned to suspicion.
Today, Steve is done with anonymity. He is tired of the constant harassment and wants it to end. Like many, he finds it unfair that his family is subject to stricter standards as well as unprecedented and likely illegal surveillance. Seemingly only because of who his neighbour is.
The Beginning
Steve Wynn is a husband and father of two young children. He was born and raised in West Nipissing. He and is wife have owned many properties and have been active members of this community for years.
When they started their family, they purchased a 38-acre property on the shores of Lake Nipissing. This property was located on a private road which they would share with two other homeowners. The Wynns eventually purchased the adjoining property and now own two of the three lots on their private road totaling a little over 40 acres. Their only neighbour occupies less than 2 acres. The Wynn’s were excited to be part of this little community where neighbors could become close friends and build lifelong friendships. At first, it seemed just that simple.
But this is no ordinary neighbour. The Thorne-Rochons likely got a bargain when they purchased this comparatively small property to settle down after living in Niagara Falls. They may have wanted a large waterfront property with privacy. But instead they appear to have simply assumed ownership and control of all the property surrounding them. A previously unknown perk of being the Mayor of West Nipissing.
Although the Wynn’s have tried vigorously to follow all the right procedures to develop their property, they have been challenged by their neighbour every step of the way.
The Thorne-Rochons have latched on to a historic designation of this area that makes it “Provincially Significant Wetlands” (PSW) which they believe prevents any and all development. The Thorne-Rochons and the municipality have even interpreting the rules to state that the Wynns could not even park a tractor (which they need to maintain their 700M driveway), cut down a single tree, or even maintain an existing trail on their 40 acre property.
What bothers the Wynns so much is that the city’s interpretation appears subjective. Dozens of property along the shores of Lake Nipissing fall under the PSW designation and many (including the mayor’s) have added garages, sheds and have undergone extensive renovations, however the municipality has never stopped them. Maybe because they did not neighbour the head of council.
The neighbourly dispute started before Thorne-Rochon became mayor, however things have escalated since then.
In 2014, the Wynns applied to build a garage and an addition to their house. They received a minor variance from the municipality. In the following years they renovated their house and made preparations for their new garage. But when they submitted their building plans to build the structure in 2021, the municipality received a 12-page complaint letter from Thorne-Rochon objecting to any development proceeding. The municipality eventually told the Wynns that they could no longer build a garage and claimed that they could not locate any approval plans from 2014. The Wynns had a copy of the variance but not of the plan approved by the city.
So they were left in a legal limbo and were drawn into costly court proceedings with the municipality for two years. But in 2023, their property was officially cleared by the municipality of any deficiencies.
The Wynns thought they could start enjoying their property without constant legal harassment.
2023: No AirBnBs in Mayor’s Neighbourhood
In her first year as mayor, Thorne-Rochon set her sights on preventing AirBnBs. Most that knew her before becoming mayor knew that this was one of her main priorities even though it was not once mentioned during her campaign.
The year before being elected, Thorne-Rochon delivered a lengthy address to the municipal planning committee in opposition to allowing AirBnBs in West Nipissing.
She claimed that her previous neighbour, the property dividing herself and the Wynns’ home, was operating an AirBnB well before she even moved to the area. She said that the use of this property as an AirBnB was “extremely disruptive”. She told the Planning Board that she was dealing with a contaminated well which she believed was caused by her neighbour’s septic system.
Speaking to the Wynns on this subject they notified me that between 2009 and 2022, the property in question was only ever used on weekends by the owners or any renters and rarely in the winter. And considering the septic was designed for a full-time single family dwelling, it is difficult to see how it could be overwhelmed with such limited use.
Before purchasing the adjoining property, Steve informed me that he called the North Bay-Mattawa Conservation Authority who notified him that they did have proper records of a valid septic system at the property as well as one at their existing house. Interestingly, this phone call revealed that there were no records on file for Thorne-Rochon’s septic system leading to the assumption that it may be improperly functioning and the culprit for any supposed water issues.
Thorne-Rochon would spend the last half of 2023 leading the charge to create one of the most restrictive AirBnB bylaws in Canada. Although the bylaw places incredible hurdles for any AirBnB operator, during deliberations Thorne-Rochon attempted to make it even stricter. Provision to prevent AirBnBs in PSW zones and on private roads were ultimately turned down by most of council.
While initially hoping to continue the quiet AirBnB that their neighbour operated, the Wynns have avoided doing so because of the new bylaw. A clear win for Thorne-Rochon.
2024: More Complaints and Drones Surveillance
With their garage sorted out and the AirBnB prospects out the window, the Wynns were surprised to find that their neighbour had once again filed a complaint with the municipality in early 2024. This time, the allegations were that Steve had parked his tractor on a restricted area of his own property. They also alleged that his small 100 square foot sugar shed, built on skis, could not be parked on a previously cleared area of his property.
But most of these contraventions could not easily be proven, so in March 2024, bylaw officers showed up at the Wynns’ property with drones. The officers notified Steve that they were allowed to use them and that he did not have a choice in allowing them.
The aerial shots gave them the documentation they needed to support the neighbour’s claim. Steve was once again delivered a summons to comply and remove all items that the city identified in their drone photos within 30 days.
Steve complied once again and then followed up with the municipality to come inspect so that he could close this latest chapter in the ordeal. After multiple follow ups with no response the Wynns eventually got a response directly from the town’s CAO, Jay Barbeau telling them that their property was now in compliance and the file was closed once again.
This response was strange for two reasons. First, it is not typical for the CAO who is two levels above the town clerk to get involved in bylaw infraction communications. And second, because Steve Wynn had not welcomed any bylaw officers back onto his property since the original inspection.
But when the CAO was forced to confront the drone allegations with council last week, he disclosed that drones had been used on a follow up. This left Steve with a troubling feeling because it meant that bylaw officers surveilled his property with drones even when he was not home.
What is even more troubling is the fact that the CAO claims that drones have only ever been used in one bylaw investigation. Coincidentally it is one that was likely prompted by the mayor herself.
Conclusion
The Wynns had reservations about going public with their story and I don’t blame them. They even had reservations about sharing the drone story anonymously. Although I am grateful that they did, they are still paying the price today.
The Wynns hope that their troubles with this municipality and the mayor can finally end. They are law abiding citizens and have cooperated with the municipality at every step of the way. But they are convinced that this has crossed into harassment a long time ago.
While they never filed a 12-page complaint themselves they have told the city that the mayor has repurposed a bunkie on her property as well as undergone extensive renovations to her garage to turn it into a home office. All within the same supposedly restrictive PSW zoning and without any headaches from bylaw officers.
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Who owned the drone that was used to survey the Wynn property? It seems that the surveillance was done by a third party and that left no guarantee that personal data would be kept securely. The information collected by that drone could have been shared to any number of computer systems anywhere. To whom was the drone registered? Did the bi-law officer actually have a pilot's certificate? Did the Municipality file an Impact Assessment Statement with the Privacy Commissioner BEFORE sending that drone over the Wynn property? Did the Municipality have a Personal Data Protection Management System in place Before using this drone to spy on private property? These infractions by the Municipality, especially in regards to failure to acquire the property owner's permission, means that the drone use was illegal and there could, and should involve heavy fines. These crimes involve the Ministry of Transportation, the Privacy Commissioner, The Ministry of Municipalities and Housing, As to the Mayor's hostile harassment of of her neighbors and using her authority to deny and delay building permits, to pass bi-laws designating the property as protected wet lands, it becomes obvious that the Mayor and CEO should be investigated and removed from office. This is not just an example of some bureaucratic red tape cock-up. This is illegal use of a drone for the purpose of gathering incriminating evidence. The Mayor and CEO have gone too far and must be removed.
Wow! This is how local jouranlism should be done. Great job.