Boaters in Victoria's Gorge Waterway plan to ignore eviction

Some people living on boats in Victoria's Gorge Waterway say they plan to defy an order to move their vessels.

The City of Victoria has been working for years to remove vessels from the urban waterway that are either derelict or have people living on them. It set Friday as the deadline for eviction.

Some owners of the roughly 30 vessels chose to move ahead of the deadline. But others, such as Richard Patterson, say they don't plan to go.

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"I'm very angry. We are not breaking any laws," said Patterson, who has been living on board his boat in the Gorge for five years. "I have no intention of leaving at the moment."

Patterson said the Gorge offers sheltered anchoring and some people living on their boats have nowhere else to go because they can't afford Victoria's high housing costs.

"We all have our different reasons, but this suits a lot of people."

The eviction notice comes after years of work by the city to deal with the longstanding issue of boats dropping anchor, which it believes is an environmental risk to the sensitive urban waterway near Victoria's downtown.

Calls for action grew strong last year after one of the derelict vessels sank and leaked oil.

The city received a License of Occupation from the province granting it legal authority over the water in 2015.

It stopped short of a ban on dropping anchor. Instead it rezoned the area to limit anchoring to a period up to 48 consecutive hours and not more than 72 hours in a month.

Victoria will turn to the courts and seek an injunction to remove any remaining vessels, if necessary, said city clerk Chris Coates.

"If folks don't leave, take the boats out on their own, then that's, I suppose, the unfortunate situation we will be in," he said.

But Coates said he hopes all boat owners will consider voluntarily complying with the new rules.

"They will save the city a lot of money and they can retain the ownership of the boats and get them where they need to be," he said

Coats said staff at Pacifica Housing have been in contact with people living aboard boats anchored in the Gorge and have offered to help them find somewhere else to live. 

He said it's not clear how long it would take for the city to obtain an injunction to remove vessels, if that becomes necessary.