Pedder Bay Trial - news release and background

NEWS RELEASE 

For Immediate Release                                                             Pedder Bay Residents

January 8, 2008

Evicted Pedder Bay residents get to tell their story  

At 10:00 am on January 8, 2008, lawyer Richard Margetts Q.C. will represent Pedder Bay home owners before Honourable J. Keith Bracken in the Supreme Court in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, in the matter of their eviction by the Oak Bay Marina Ltd. The trial is expected to last approximately 20 days.

In January of 2007, Oak Bay Marina Ltd, owned by Mr. Bob Wright, issued a 12 month notice to end tenancy to 29 homes at 925 Pedder Bay Drive, Victoria, British Columbia. Residents of 25 of those homes in Pedder Bay Trailer Park are part of a court action where they are seeking a fair and equitable solution to their eviction.

If Pedder Bay residents are forced off the land they will lose their homes and their community. These evictions are grossly unfair and will create a hardship for many residents of Pedder Bay.

Already two families have gone bankrupt.  One family has left because their health didn’t allow them to stay and fight. Some individuals are unable to contribute to the legal costs. Others have experienced serious health issues, including in one case a sudden requirement for heart surgery, due to the added stress of being evicted and having to go to court in search of justice.

Pedder Bay residents are not alone. “Lack of affordable housing, the need for consumer protection legislation, and social justice issues are being advanced and will have an impact locally, provincially and nationally” said Spokesperson, Terrill Welch “These are questions that are affecting not only us but many other manufactured home parks in British Columbia and Canada.”

There are 43,000 people living in manufactured homes in British Columbia according to McClanaghan & Associates, consultants. In February 2007, McClanaghan presented an examination of issues facing mobile home park communities across B.C. to the Housing Policy Branch of BC Housing. The report, entitled Manufactured Home Study

 is available at http://www.housing.gov.bc.ca/housing/MHP_Report.pdf .

Resident and member of the leadership team, Shanne McCaffrey added “We are beginning a process of organizing to help support and assist a flow of information from our experience to other manufactured homeowners living in parks like ours. These are homeowners who have been made much more vulnerable by recent changes in legislation and soaring land prices.”

Terrill Welch will provide Blog entries daily at http://terrill.zaadz.com/blog  and a website is being developed at www.pedderbay.ca

Media contact:

Terrill Welch, spokesperson and member of the Pedder Bay Leadership Team will be at the court house daily -- Cell phone: 250-744-4560 (available only between 12:30 pm to 2:00 pm Monday to Friday)

Email: tawelch@shaw.ca

Alternate contact Shanne McCaffrey, member of Leadership Team

Phone: 250-220-9022 (messages will be responded to early mornings and evenings)

Background:

On August 29, 30 and 31 of 2007 a Summary Trial took place in the Supreme Court of British Columbia before Honourable Mr. Justice R.D. Wilson. Oak Bay Marina Ltd. applied for a summary judgment based on written evidence provided by both parties. On September 21, 2007 his judgment came down: none of the issues and claims presented could be decided by summary trial; this dismissed Oak Bay Marine Ltd’s application.

On August 27, 2007 Pedder Bay residents formally extended a warm welcome and invitation to Dr. Robert Wright, owner of Oak Bay Marina Ltd., to meet with them and begin a relationship that is connected at a human level. Dr. Wright has not responded to that invitation as yet. 

On April 12, 2007, in the Supreme Court of British Columbia, Oak Bay Marina Ltd filed a Statement of Defence and Courterclaim; this was in response to the writ filed by evicted Pedder Bay Residents.

Evicted Pedder Bay Residents filed a writ in Supreme Court of British Columbia on Wednesday March 7, 2007 claiming an interest in the land.

In January of 2007, Oak Bay Marina Ltd issued a 12 month notice to end tenancy to 29 homes at 925 Pedder Bay Drive, Victoria, British Columbia.

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There are approximately 35 people living in the Pedder Bay Community. These include 4 children and 7 seniors. Some of the families have lived in this community for 30 years. Most of the residents are facing huge and complex problems. These homes cannot be relocated because of their age, construction or improvements. Even if their homes could be moved there is no available pad space for them to move to on southern Vancouver Island. Consequently the vast majority of these residents, many of them senior and several of them seriously ill, have no viable options for replacement housing.

Since the initial placement of the homes at Pedder Bay decades ago, the homeowners have expended monies, time and effort in construction, landscaping, re-design, renovations, and additions, that have improved their modest residences, affixed them to the land, and added value to the land. The residences have provided rent monies for close to four decades.  Pedder Bay homeowners are also tax payers who have contributed property taxes for these four decades to the district of Metchosin.

As a result of the age of the homes, changes in regulations and bylaws, and especially the re-design and major improvements condoned and approved by the landlord, the homes can no longer be towed or carried away from the property. 

If you have comments, I would love to hear from you! Please email me at tawelch@shaw.ca or reply to this Blog entry.

Terrill Welch
Spokes person and resident

on behalf of Pedder Bay Residents

Donations can be made by paypal at www.pedderbay.ca

Or by cheque or money order to the Pedder Bay Residents Society.

Our community address is:

Pedder Bay Residents Society
#1 - 925 Pedder Bay Drive
Victoria, BC, Canada
V9C 4H1

Thank you for your support!