Stan Pottie says the dozen huge animatronic dinosaurs on his property bring joy to thousands of people every year. But the District of Lantzville has a different view — it has gone to B.C. Supreme Court in Nanaimo to prohibit Pottie from operating an amusement park and cannabis dispensary on his 2.5-acre Clark Drive property. Lantzville, with a population of about 3,600, is immediately north of Nanaimo.
A hearing via telephone is scheduled for Monday on the district’s bid for court orders to shut down Pottie’s activities. Lantzville argues Pottie’s property is not zoned for its current use and that he’s encroaching on a district-owned right of way that’s part of the nearby highway.
In its June 17 petition to the court, it says Pottie started operating an amusement park, featuring dinosaurs and a fire truck, on the right of way this year.
“The use of the property for a cannabis dispensary or an amusement park business is not permitted by the zoning bylaw,” it says in its petition.
But Pottie, 65, argues he’s not running an amusement park and all signs have been removed, adding that dinosaurs have been relocated to the lower level of the property.
On Thursday, he said there is no entrance fee for those who stop to see his display, although people are welcome to make donations. “I don’t charge anybody.”
He disputes the district’s interpretation of zoning regulations, saying in his response filed in court that a home-based business complies with municipal rules.
Pottie said his position is that because Lantzville does not issue business licences, it does not have jurisdiction over the store.
He said provincial officials came by to ask him to voluntarily close his store, saying penalties for failing to comply could include a fine or jail time.
Encroachments cited by Lantzville involve large boulders that were in place when he purchased the property, he said.
“This is a petty lawsuit brought on without any clear law being broken or any harm to anyone,” said Pottie, who argues his collection is a “great tourist attraction.”
Some days when school is not in session, hundreds of people show up to see it, he said.
In his filing to the court, Pottie says it’s not against the law to collect “dino stuff.”
He bought the first two animatronic dinosaurs — a 4.5-metre-tall amargasaurus and a duckbill parasaurophus — from an auction last year for his property, where he runs his companies DJ Excavating and Country Buds Dispensary.
Since then, he has acquired more from China, spending $380,000 for all 12, he said.
The group includes a stegosaurus, a triceratops and two blue raptors that were in a Jurassic World movie with actor Chris Pratt, Pottie said. “They look and move like they are stealing eggs.”
Another “pretty cool” 7.3-metre-tall dinosaur carries a human operator inside who can make it walk and roar, he said.
