50 replies to this topic

[Victoria Watcher]

Did they blast out the rocks there to create it?  You can see the GREEN water now where it will be eventuially opened up to the sea (BLUE water).

 

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 08 December 2024 - 07:55 AM.

[spanky123]

That said, it certainly looks very peaceful in the watercolour!

 

The pictures always look really nice!

[Blair M.]

Did they blast out the rocks there to create it?  You can see the GREEN water now where it will be eventuially opened up to the sea (BLUE water).

Looking at Google Earth, the answer looks like a "yes". 

I imagine they'll eventually have to make it work somehow, as the marina is the #1 pitch item in their marketing material for that development.

 

Looking at marinas from a practical point of view:

1. Is it completely protected from storms? (in this case "no")
2. Where will you get gas? (in this case from any marina in Sooke Harbour)
3. Can you safely get back into the marina if you're out fishing and a storm develops (in this case, "no")
4. How hard is it to get your camping/fishing gear from your car/house down to your boat? (in this case, it looks a bit difficult, you'd definitely better stay pretty mobile in your retirement years)

[Barrister]

There is also the possibility that this will never be finished. 

[Blair M.]

There is also the possibility that this will never be finished. 

Indeed!

Build and sell all the houses, and then announce suddenly that - "due to engineering issues beyond our control, the marina itself will unfortunately not be completed".

[Victoria Watcher]

The Tofino Harbour Authority is in the midst of a standoff with a squatter at its Armitage Point dock as it arranges for new gates and security fobs to be installed this week.

 

The dispute with the squatter has been unresolved for more than two years and recently escalated, the harbour authority said in a statement.

 

Harbour authority office doors have been closed for more than three weeks because of security concerns.

 

“This closure impacts essential services for the local fishing and tourism industries, as well as day-to-day management of the harbour,” the statement said.

 

The squatter received an eviction notice on Friday, said a harbour authority official.

 

The harbour authority is frustrated with what it considers a slow reaction from law enforcement and government agencies, which has left the situation unresolved, it said.

 

“We call on authorities at all levels to address this matter urgently,” said Shayne Sadler, president of the Tofino Harbour Authority, adding its ability to serve the community is being compromised.

 

 

 

https://www.timescol...at-dock-9971709

 

 

 

 

 

That's a heck of an article that really does not explain what the "squatter" is all about.  Is he/she on a boat, on the shore, swimming.  In the parking lot?

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 18 December 2024 - 05:38 AM.

[Mike K.]

When you base an entire article off a press release, you only report what the press release stated, I guess.

[Victoria Watcher]

I guess. There were previous stories that also did not elaborate on the threat that was keeping the office closed.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 18 December 2024 - 08:58 AM.

[Blair M.]

According to a selection of older articles on the situation, the guy has had his boat tied up at the dock for two years, and he lives on board.

He dumps his sewage directly overboard, and he burns wood (and dumps the ashes in the water) while tied up at the dock.

Burning wood at a dock puts the dock and all the boats tied to it at serious risk.

Dumping sewage, garbage and ashes overboard, directly into the harbour puts sea life at risk, and is some pretty disgusting pollution floating around in Tofino proper.

 

He won't leave.

Over the two years, he's threatened the Harbour Authority staff on multiple occasions.

 

The overlapping of jurisdictions, including the Federal Government, the Harbour Authority, the RCMP, etc are likely compounding the difficulty of determining exactly who can legally get rid of this guy and his boat.

[Victoria Watcher]

Ya, seems like a mess, that in a sane society we would just deal with without having to buy fencing and security measures.

[Mike K.]

I guess. There were previous stories that also did not elaborate on the threat that was keeping the office closed.

Because the press release didn’t.

[Victoria Watcher]

Fake news!

[Victoria Watcher]

The Tofino Harbour Authority says it has temporarily shuttered its office in the coastal Vancouver Island community due to an escalating standoff with the operator of a so-called "squatter" vessel.

 

The harbour authority says the vessel has been illegally occupying harbour property at the Armitage Point dock for more than two years, despite repeated notices to vacate.

 

Ryan Crawford, the harbour authority's operations manager, says the vessel operator has been discharging raw sewage and burning wood in the sensitive marine area, leading to confrontations with harbour authority staff.

 

"The situation, which has been unresolved for over two years, escalated recently, prompting the closure," Crawford said in a statement Monday.

 

The not-for-profit harbour authority, which leases and manages the daily operations of the public small-craft marina from its Fourth Street office, says the vessel operator refuses to leave the premises and is disrupting critical harbour operations.

 

The office closure will affect essential services for the local fishing and tourism industries, the statement warned.

 

"Despite repeated efforts by the harbour authority to engage with local authorities and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), responses have been delayed due to bureaucratic barriers," the statement said.

 

"In a concerning development, two high-ranking DFO officers were seen interacting with the squatter today, raising further concerns about the response from authorities."

 

The operations manager said the harbour authority is frustrated by "the slow reaction from law enforcement and government agencies, which has left the situation unresolved."

 

A Fisheries and Oceans Canada spokesperson said the agency is "aware of the issues that the Tofino Harbour Authority board has been managing" and will support the board as it works to resolve the dispute.

 

 

 

https://bc.ctvnews.c...-says-1.7148523

 

 

 

 

^ Much better information here, the TC article was awfiul short of information.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 18 December 2024 - 10:34 PM.

[Victoria Watcher]

The Tofino Harbour Authority says it’s trying to remove a float home that has failed to renew its lease for two years.

 

In an email statement last week, the harbour authority told CHEK News that the “squatter” failed to provide required documents to Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), which it runs its sublease through.

 

“Despite two years of requests for the necessary documentation to process the sublease, the owner was unable to comply and was ultimately asked to leave,” said the harbour authority.

 

On Friday, Marcel Theriault, who lives on the float home with his family, told CHEK News that some paperwork was indeed missed over the COVID-19 pandemic, but efforts to remedy the situation and send the harbour authority new forms have not been processed.

 

Theriault says the family has been there for 12 years, 10 before the lease expired, and that they never lapsed on a lease payment over there decade there.

 

He says that in August the harbour authority issued the family a trespass notice, and since then the harbour authority has not responded to the family’s lawyer’s requests for information.

 

Earlier this month, the Tofino Harbour Authority had the electricity disconnected to the float home, and it also issued the owners a banishment notice.

 

“We’re all pretty sad and frustrated and we just wish somebody could give us an answer and explain why we need to be banished from a facility,” he said.

 

The DFO tells CHEK News it is “aware of the issues that the Tofino Harbour Authority board has been managing.”

 

 

https://cheknews.ca/...atters-1230287/

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 20 December 2024 - 10:25 PM.

[Victoria Watcher]

A man described as a squatter by the Tofino Harbour Authority says he has paid monthly rental invoices to keep his float home at a dock known as the Crab Dock from 2012 until this fall.

 

Marcel Theriault’s power was cut off a week ago and a $500 non-compliance fine was imposed by the authority for remaining at the dock.

 

The authority and Theriault, who did not want to disclose what he’s been paying in rent, are in a dispute over his presence at the Crab Dock, one of the facilities managed by the harbour authority.

 

“I don’t know why they’re doing any of this,” said Theriault. He said he received a trespass notice in July and was ordered to leave immediately, but has not left. He said he intends to pay the fine.

 

He had previously been under a year-to-year sub-lease with the harbour authority on the final 16 feet of the dock, and had submitted an application to run a marine services business, he said.

 

During the pandemic, however, the dock lease was not renewed, although Theriault said he continued to pay monthly invoices. “I was always happy to pay for what I was receiving.”

 

Harbour authority officials are difficult to communicate with but have made it clear they do not want to renew the sub-lease, he said.

 

The Tofino Harbour Authority office has been closed for about a month as it upgrades security at its facilities, including installing gates that are locked at night.

 

Theriault said he hasn’t been given time to relocate, noting any move requires a spot where he can anchor his float home.

 

He also has other vessels attached in a linear path to the float home and has a barge moored at another location, not connected with the harbour authority.

 

 

 

https://www.timescol...no-dock-9990762

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 21 December 2024 - 05:20 AM.

[Mike K.]

Why did they have to evacuate their offices, is what we’re all wondering.

[Victoria Watcher]

A man described as a squatter by the Tofino Harbour Authority says he has paid monthly rental invoices to keep his float home at a dock known as the Crab Dock from 2012 until this fall.

Marcel Theriault’s power was cut off a week ago and a $500 non-compliance fine was imposed by the authority for remaining at the dock.

The authority and Theriault, who did not want to disclose what he’s been paying in rent, are in a dispute over his presence at the Crab Dock, one of the facilities managed by the harbour authority.







He paid rent “until this fall” but also won’t tell us how much he pays?

Hmmmmm.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 21 December 2024 - 02:04 PM.

[Blair M.]

If my landlord cancels my lease, I am then obliged to leave the property. I can't simply continue to send the landlord cheques in an effort to negate the fact that the lease was terminated.

 

This fellow meets every demographic of a classic squatter, one that's refusing to leave private property because he feels it's his home, and he has an absolute right to live there.

[Victoria Watcher]

Presumably the police there don’t take that view.

Now, that might also might be because there is also a child living there.

The recent articles do not address the raw sewage claims. In fact it’s suspiciously absent.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 22 December 2024 - 07:18 AM.

[Blair M.]

I'm not sure if the RCMP would ever deal with squatters outside of a court order to do so, as they have no method of determining whether somebody is a legal resident, or a squatter?

The RCMP would certainly be involved after a court case was concluded, which raises yet another question as to why this issue has languished for two years rather than working its way through the courts?

 

Sewage on a boat/floating home always goes one of two places, either into a pump-out, or into the open sea.

I'd be confused if the Harbour Authority were to speak anything but the truth regarding the sewage issues, as without a pump-out on the dock, and with the squatter not moving for the past two years, the sewage would literally have no place else to go but into the harbour.

There are definitely more questions than answers being offered here.

 

"Squatting" may be a misnomer in this case (is it more a case of an illegal trespass?), as squatting usually references taking up residence in/on unused or abandoned properties.