'I sympathize': Judge wants them to stay, but upholds eviction notice for Kootenay houseboats
A family living in a houseboat outside of Nelson will now have to find somewhere else to live after a BC judge upheld an eviction notice forcing them back onto land.
BC Supreme Court Justice Lindsay Lyster said amid a housing crisis it would be in the public interest to allow the two houseboats in question to stay.
The Justice said the houseboats weren't in anyone's way and there were no environmental concerns.
However, the Justice said she didn't have the authority to make a decision allowing them to stay, and she was just tasked to rule on whether the local authorities had followed the regulations, which they had.
The ruling comes more than four years after the Ministry of Forests first began investigating.
According to a June 4 BC Supreme Court decision, the case involved two separate houseboats floating on Kootenay Lake, just north of Nelson.
One is owned by Kyley Gagnon who lives on her houseboat with her two children and another is owned by Hannah Chessman who uses it as an art studio and vacation home.
In 2021, the Regional District of Central Kootenay and the Ministry of Forests became aware of several floating residential structures on the lake.
The Ministry decided that the structures were float homes and occupying Crown land, and didn't have authorization to do so.
In 2022, the first trespass notices were issued to Chessman and Gagno, giving them a few months to move their houseboats.
They didn't move the houseboats and a year later a second trespass notice was issued.
In 2024, the province made moves to seize the houseboats.
The two owners filed a legal challenge against the trespass and seizure notices arguing the province had no right to kick them off the lake.
The decision said navigation and shipping fall under federal jurisdiction, whereas "floating residential structures" fall under provincial jurisdiction.
The owners said their structures are not "float homes."
"Ms. Chessman says that she never resided in her structure, and that her structure is intended for navigation. Ms. Gagnon acknowledges that she resides on her structure, but says that her structure is intended for navigation. In essence, they say that their structures are vessels intended for and actually used in navigation and, therefore, are not under provincial jurisdiction," the decision read.
However, the Justice disagreed and ruled they were float homes and not vessels.
"It was reasonable for the decision-makers to conclude that the... structures were intended for use or were being used or occupied for residential purposes, and that they were not primarily intended for, or usable in, navigation," Justice Lyster said. "The decisions to impose the trespass and seizure notices were reasonable."
The decision said both owners had tried to get legal permission to stay, but nothing was in place to enable them to get legal moorage.
"I sympathize with the (houseboat owners)," the Justice said. "The housing market in the Nelson area is tight, and in Ms. Gagnon’s case, her structure has provided her and her family with affordable housing... It is arguable that, within the context of the current housing crisis, permitting and regulating the use of floating homes on Kootenay Lake, whether by means of the Floating Homes Community Policy or some other mechanism, would be in the public interest."
The Justice gave the two owners 30 days to vacate.
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