Eastern Shore man granted exemption to keep beloved Angel at home

A popular Eastern Shore horse will be staying in an area where she brings so much joy, after councillors brought the "human heart" into a bylaw case.

Robin Clayton has had Angel, a dark-brown Tennessee Walker, in a small barn on his East Petpeswick, N.S., property since 2015.

A complaint was made recently and Halifax municipal bylaw officers discovered the barn wasn't set back far enough from water sources like wells. 

But on Thursday, the Harbour East-Marine Drive community council granted Clayton an exemption, allowing him to keep Angel in her barn.

"I feel great," Clayton said after the vote, when the room erupted into cheers. "I've been worrying about this decision for a year now.

"The councillors, they got it right. And [I'm] very thankful for all the community support that I had, and it all turned out good in the end so that's all that counts."

Municipal staff had ruled Clayton was violating the land-use bylaw, so he appealed. Clayton said he couldn't physically move the barn to comply with the bylaw given the small size of his lot.

Thursday saw the community council room in Dartmouth filled with supporters, who gave passionate pleas to grant Clayton an exemption.

Clayton said he adopted Angel, who had been saved from a meat factory, after meeting her when he was helping at another barn a few years ago in his retirement.

"She's a big part of my life, that's about all I can say. She's family," Clayton said.

Many, like Jessica Oakes, talked about how much people love watching Clayton walk Angel around the area or ride her on the beach. Some people stop to visit Angel regularly.

"For a lot of community members, this is the one thing within the community that actually brings them joy," Oakes said.

Jessica Corrigan pointed to an online petition that had gathered more than 8,000 signatures in support of Clayton. She said so many people put up "keep Angel home" signs in their driveways that the person making them ran out.

Corrigan and others said an exemption was reasonable because the intent of the bylaw is to prevent agricultural activities from harming human health and disrupting neighbours, neither of which happened.

"Residents in the area feel this issue demonstrates that the city is out of touch with rural communities and their way of life," Corrigan said.

"Most importantly, as a friend, I am concerned for Robin, who after losing his wife he has found a best friend and partner in Angel. Please find the compassion to see that this issue is simple to resolve."

After visiting Clayton's property, area councillor David Hendsbee said he was satisfied there weren't water contamination issues. He said Clayton regularly removes the manure, and the closest wells are uphill and away from any potential runoff.

He also said they had received many letters in support of Clayton, including from his immediate neighbours.

'Sometimes you gotta break the rules'

Coun. Sam Austin said it is clear city staff were simply following the existing rules and doing their job.

"We're doing our job, too, which is at times to insert a bit of the human heart into things," he said.

After councillors voted to approve Clayton's exemption, many of them joined in the loud burst of clapping.

Coun. Trish Purdy said although rules of decorum for community council state there should be no applause, "even I did there."

"Sometimes you gotta break the rules a little. Congratulations Mr. Clayton," Purdy said.