 | Home page |  | Text size |  | E-mail this page |
Houseboats along the breakwater separating Baker Creek from Yellowknife Bay. The city says the houseboats are on Commissioner's Land which is leased as recreational use only. - Candace Thomson/NNSL photo |
Baker Creek houseboaters evicted The creek is Commissioner's Land, says Harbour Plan co-ordinator
Candace Thomson
Northern News Services
Published Friday, July 19, 2013
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Houseboaters in Baker Creek have until July 31 to move their floating homes from the area after the City of Yellowknife issued removal notices on Tuesday.
When six new houseboats popped up on the breakwater separating Baker Creek from Yellowknife Bay it sparked concern from some residents and confusion over jurisdiction.
After weeks of hot potato between several departments to determine who has jurisdiction over Baker Creek, the city has decided the four remaining houseboaters in the area need to move. Two of the original houseboats in the area moved to Yellowknife Bay recently.
The City's Harbour Planning Committee, the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs, the Department of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and the Giant Mine Remediation team were all players in the decision to remove the houseboaters - but it was spearheaded by the city.
Baker Creek is on the Giant Mine site which is Commissioner's Land leased by the city. The lease includes the old town site which is gated off, the boat launch, the Mining Heritage Society land, the parking lot and the breakwater which is currently being used as parking space for the houseboaters.
Jeff Humble, director of planning and development for the city and co-ordinator of the Yellowknife Harbour Planning Committee, said in June the city does not have jurisdiction over the area because the houseboats were in the water and not moored to city property.
"After consulting with several departments we are of the opinion that it's incorporated within the lease boundaries," said Humble.
The lease states the land is only to be used for recreational use, not residential, he added.
The departments considered the impact the houseboats were having on the recreational use of the area, said Humble.
He also said the houseboats were affecting the environmental monitoring work being done by the Giant Mine Remediation Team.
On Tuesday, city officials descended upon Baker Creek with notices informing houseboaters they would have to move out of the area by July 31.
If the houseboaters do not move by the indicated time Humble said the city is prepared to use enforcement action to force them to move.
City bylaw states if the occupants of an area who have received a notice do not comply with the city's orders, their property could be removed or demolished at the cost of the owner.
Humble said the city will determine what action it will take on July 31 "based on the circumstances."
The city also plans to block off the breakwater with large rocks, stopping vehicles from parking there while allowing pedestrians freedom to roam about the narrow strip.
Dennis Marchiori, public safety director for the city, said officers didn't face any confrontation from the houseboaters.
"There was nobody down there when the officers went," said Marchiori. "But we're expecting phone calls."
As of Wednesday morning none of the houseboaters had contacted the city, Marchiori added.
Yellowknifer went to Baker Creek in hopes of contacting houseboaters as well, but was unsuccessful in reaching anyone.
Gary Vaillancourt, a houseboat owner in Yellowknife Bay, where the Baker Creek houseboats are likely to be moving, said there are few places for other houseboats in the already congested bay, but that the houseboat community will likely try to welcome them.
"There's always the mentality that there's always room for someone if it's done respectfully," he said.
He also offered a solution for the city instead of what he called an aggressive approach of forcing the houseboaters to move, something he's experienced in his 40 years in Yellowknife.
"There's a huge need for people to tie up houseboats and the city should accommodate that instead of waging war," he said. "Yellowknife has a lot of shoreline per capita compared to other places, and there's no reason there shouldn't be a spot specifically for houseboats that's legal."
Vaillancourt also sympathizes with the houseboat owners who were issued notices.
"It's a disturbing feeling," he said. "The city seems to take aggressive action on houseboaters they'd never take on someone who lives on the land."
| 
