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Selkirk Boat Squatters


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#21 Bingo

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Posted 04 March 2012 - 08:27 AM

This problem is at least three decades old now. I recall all sorts of weird stuff happening on those boats (crimes, explosions, etc) throughout the years.


Just recently a livaboard anchored near the Oak Bay Marina caught fire and sank. The elderly man got off but his dog didn't.

Over the years there have been boats washed up on the beach near the marina during storms, and then have had to be removed at the taxpayers expense.

#22 Mike K.

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Posted 04 March 2012 - 08:27 AM

The boat I posted pictures of earlier in the thread has been free floating around the harbour and banging into the rail trestle. As of yesterday afternoon it sat nudged up against the bridge banging about in the high winds.

To think there is nothing that can be done about this...

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#23 Bingo

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Posted 04 March 2012 - 08:32 AM

The boat I posted pictures of earlier in the thread has been free floating around the harbour and banging into the rail trestle. As of yesterday afternoon it sat nudged up against the bridge banging about in the high winds.

To think there is nothing that can be done about this...


What if that boat caught fire and set the Selkirk Trestle ablaze?

#24 Mike K.

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Posted 04 March 2012 - 08:44 AM

Yes, there are a lot of what-ifs. The City and the feds are dealing with this issue too lightly, IMO.

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#25 vandervalk

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Posted 04 March 2012 - 08:58 AM

As a Coast Guard Aux. member here in Sooke, I can also attest to another side of tax payers dollars going to waste many time over because these loosely anchored, floating disasters, drag their anchors in high winds, which as you know we get quite often. Wind up on shore or partially sink because they are neglected.

However almost each and every time this happens, and it's not unique to the Sooke area, the Coast Guard Aux. get tasked out to ensure nobody is on these boats. Which 99% of the time is the case. Coast Guard ends up paying us for our time, which is a waste of money and resources.
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#26 Holden West

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Posted 04 March 2012 - 09:11 AM

I was of two minds on this issue.

On one hand I respect Victoria's decades-long tradition of tolerance towards fringe-dwellers and others that don't quite fit it and I don't particularly see the boats as an eyesore any worse than any other poorly-maintained human habitation.

On the other hand the pollution is a concern, as is the appearance that some sort of criminal activities may be going on. But a derelict boat full of fuel banging up against a vulnerable historic wooden trestle is too much to tolerate.
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#27 kjf

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Posted 05 March 2012 - 06:18 AM

Contact Shellie Gudgeon, Victoria city councillor regarding this issue....esp about the two recent ones banging against the trestle; one of them being that green "float home". Someone could get hurt boarding them, start fires as previously stated etc. The coast guard did board the green one several weeks ago when it was butted up against the trestle.

#28 Sparky

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Posted 05 March 2012 - 07:18 AM

Welcome to Vibrant Victoria kjf.

Now we have to find someone that is willing to make the call.

Callers?

#29 Holden West

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Posted 05 March 2012 - 07:23 AM

It is funny, if you are out fishing in the strait you may be boarded by all manner of authorities, including the RCMP, in order to determine if you are in violation of any law or regulation. But if your derelict boat is in the Gorge actually violating the law, nothing at all will happen.
"Beaver, ahoy!""The bridge is like a magnet, attracting both pedestrians and over 30,000 vehicles daily who enjoy the views of Victoria's harbour. The skyline may change, but "Big Blue" as some call it, will always be there."
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#30 Mike K.

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Posted 05 March 2012 - 08:19 AM

Shellie Gudgeon's home looks directly out onto the Selkirk Trestle, btw.

As of yesterday the boat that was floating about has been tied to the trestle.

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#31 snaptee

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Posted 05 March 2012 - 09:29 AM

I ride the trestle every weekday on my commute to work and have been for the past 5 or 6 years. Prior to 2008 I don't recall there being as many boats as there are now. Since 2010 it seems there have been more and more every year. My main concern is the pollution caused by these boats. If they can't afford or won't pay for proper moorage I have trouble believing they are paying to have their holds emptied properly. I cringe when I think about all the bilge, grey and black water set out to settle in what is important habitat for the anadromous fish species on the verge of extirpation. Not to say that industrial users aren't doing their part but when you pay taxes and employ people, it's somehow ok.

#32 Holden West

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Posted 16 January 2013 - 02:33 PM

This Supreme Court ruling is from the US but I wonder if it might spur Canada to give more power over derelict boats and floathomes to local government. Although the key to this ruling is that the vessel must be tethered to shore to escape federal jurisdiction.

The 7-2 decision upholds laws in California, Washington and other states that say floating homes that are attached to the shore and do not travel are governed by local laws applying to homes, not by federal admiralty law regulating ships and boats.


http://www.latimes.c...0,6961913.story
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-City of Victoria website, 2009

#33 G-Man

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Posted 16 January 2013 - 03:58 PM

Most of the boats would be safe then.

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#34 Bingo

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Posted 15 June 2013 - 07:34 AM

Idyllic or unsafe?

If the four boats rafted together dragged their anchor on an outgoing current or in strong winds, the Selkirk Trestle would be in danger if the boats ended up against the pilings and an onboard fire broke out.

It seems there are all sorts of hoops to jump through if you want to build a marina in the harbour, but no hoops, regulations or enforcement if you want to set up your own floating community a little bit more out of sight.



#35 Mike K.

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Posted 15 June 2013 - 07:52 AM

These folks make use of certain municipal services without paying taxes for them. You'll often see heaps of garbage dropped off beside garbage cans near the Selkirk Trestle which are meant for passersby's to use and not as a dumping ground. And every so often police will arrive to address a dispute between the boaters or respond to a complaint by a nearby resident.

And how many deadly accidents have there been on these boats in recent years? I can recall at least one deadly explosion and a drowning incident.

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#36 HB

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Posted 15 June 2013 - 08:06 AM

Idyllic or unsafe?

If the four boats rafted together dragged their anchor on an outgoing current or in strong winds, the Selkirk Trestle would be in danger if the boats ended up against the pilings and an onboard fire broke out


Yes that scenario is touching and has great shock value to it mayb ethe TC will have it front page in their new Nimby Pull out section.

Here is a scenario that you could use to persuade them to close fishermans wharf while they are hacking each other to death about the live abords in Selkirk

Some people Illegally feeding the seals down there decide to order some fish and chips from barbs. The cook starts deep frying the fish when all of a sudden the deep fryer catches fire and explodes sending hot grease everywhere.
The builing catches fire the the wharf and all the boats tied up there.The burning boats break free becasue their ropes are gone and a group of them float into the harbour on the in going tide. they go under the Victoria clipper wharf and it catches fire....next all of victoria is on fire. All because of a Seal that didnt know how to hunt for itself because human taught it to each from their hand outs.


It bothers me that there are Nimbys here that b-tch about anything. I can only guess that it is people in their fancy Victorian homes and Dupexes dont like looking at the boats the other 99.8% of CRD residents dont care and dont see them.
Would you prefer to make these boat people homeless so that they can sleep on the streets with the other thousands of homeless in this city?

Lets start a list of nimby wish list in victoria

No Boats in Selkirk
No Cruise ships in outer Wharves
No Buses in Jame Bay
No Sewer here or there
No 50 kmh speed limit
No signs
No Outfall
No watering

Please feel free to add to the list

This City is full of people who are full of themselves

#37 Mike K.

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Posted 15 June 2013 - 08:13 AM

So you would be ok with squatters setting up a shantytown in your neighbourhood? Because that's what this boater community really is, a shantytown that just happens to be dodging municipal bylaws at the present time.

The individuals who live on those boats have no access to water or essential municipal services, have no dock, and several individuals have been killed in recent years as a result of accidents associated with that lifestyle.

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#38 HB

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Posted 15 June 2013 - 08:25 AM

Well what I think is that becasue the water is not owned it is fine. This didnt just spring up now.
That whole waterway was full of logbooms and davis rafts that sat there for years and years to feed the BCFB mill.
What about people who live in nice new condos in town that Look out their windows and see View Towers or the Chelsea.
Same scenario isnt it.(other than they have piped in water and garbage pickup)
Ths 2 buildings have undesireables in them. They are dirty they are a haven for crime.
People die there from overdoses, from murders and from peole who jump.
Should those building be torn down or should the City forcibly remove eveyone from the building because in my mind there is not much difference.Is is fair to a Condo owner in the Manhattan to have to see those buildings everytime they look out their window? You know the balconies are ven piled high with agrbage too on some of them.

When I lived in Toronto I stayed in a place called regent park downtown and it is low income but I must say that View Towers made some of those buildings lokk like they were owned by Trump


They are not dodging municipal bylaws. They are living in an are where there are NO municipal bylaws because there is no jurisdiction there. Anyone from outsid ethe City of Victoria who visits a park ad puts garbage in a can that came out of their car is also skirting a bylaw


How many is several Mike when you talk about deaths .

Street people alos do not have water available to them where they sleep . They also do not have toilets. Should be go back to banning street people? Actually bad question because they are already treated poorly by the community at large.

This city is for those who have a job and money. If you dont have that you will be harrassed to no end by those who sit above the less fortunate on the ladder of social status.

#39 D.L.

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Posted 15 June 2013 - 08:31 AM

How much sewage gets pumped into the water every day?

#40 14 West

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Posted 15 June 2013 - 08:50 AM

Well said History Buff.

There needs to be a place for those who either don't fit into mainstream society or those who do not want to partake in it other than living on the streets.

Not everyone is wired for 9-5 in a mundane job, not everyone wants to make money to buy crap, some just want to do their own thing and survive - some people that is all they are capable of. But with property prices these days it is impossible to exclude ones self legally from this, so living on a boat is about the only viable option since you can't squat at Sombrio anymore.

It also seems to me that it isolates a lot of the associated issues too, so folks should be happy these people are not panhandling on the streets. Sure they might poo-poo in the gorge, but really, there are maybe what, two dozen people dropping D's in several trillion gallons of water? I doubt it is even detectable in a water quality sample. I'd be more concerned with the fertilizer run off the from adjacent rich folks lawns or the tonnes of goose crap that makes its way into the Gorge.

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