Pedder Bay Trial - take action before it is to late!

Photo - step out from behind the curtain - together we can make a difference!

I received the following information via email from a fellow manufactured homeowner who recently received notice to end tenancy in Burnaby B.C....

Just wanted you to know another group of manufactured home owners are sending you best wishes and watching your case with great interest.

All of us here at the Grandview Motel & Trailer Park just received our notices, too. We've got until Jan. 31/09 to get out. As in your case, most of the trailers here are to old and fragile to move anywhere, except into a disposal bin (at approx. $3000 per unit). After being told the park was "grandfathered", our park was sold to a numbered company about 1 1/2 years ago and the redevelopment rumours started soon after. Our new owners won't even respond to registered letters, preferring to be "badgers without faces". When we approached the City of Burnaby to request their assistance, they washed their collective hands and suggested we "retain legal council".

So we're going to start the dispute process, hoping that the fact that the Landlord hasn't had any permits (only a tentative approval) issued to him yet might make the current Notice null and void. In the dispute, we're requesting the Arbitrator take the possible outcome of your case into consideration (perfect timing, thank you!). We're also requesting that the Arbitrator take into account the fact that Mr. Harry Bains has put forth an amendment to the evil "Act"  (Bill M204) that has yet to be tabled.

At last count, we have about 25 homes here, 22 of which are occupied (I think). Including a camper and a very old motor home, all parked behind a decrepit motel. Most are seniors, some disabled and there are a few new couples who have landed here in the last few years. The fellow behind me has been here almost 40 years, now.

The history of our park is a little convoluted, so we seem to fall into the "special case" category. In 1927, our property was zoned for commercial use. Around 1940, they built a motel. Then, in 1948, it was rezoned to Residential, with the motel continuing to run ( as 'legal non-conforming', I believe). Eleven years later, in 1959, a business license was approved to add "8 Trailer Camp/Court spaces". Finally, in 1965, the property was re-zoned R3.

 Somehow, starting in the late 60's, park model homes started landing here (mine's a 1969, 12'x48' and sits on dirt), with no building permits on record. Yet we're all registered with the Province, each received an Assessment Notice, and all have to pay taxes. The 8 trailers magically became 22 manufactured homes, and nobody seemed to notice!

I came here in 2001, and was told the property was "grandfathered". Pity I didn't know the owner (at the time) was a man who had married into the family and who apparently doesn't have any heirs. When he sold the place to a numbered company, everyone was shocked. The only noticed we recieved was a note that said, "As of Aug 01,2006, please make your cheques payable to 0#### BC Ltd.".

At that point, we started smelling rats, so we affiliated ourselves with the [neighbouring] Manufactured Home Owners Association (we're the only park in Burnaby). They've been a great help with information, and are even contemplating helping us with legal costs, should our fight go as far as yours. Perhaps the backing of the 23 (?) parks affiliated with them might carry some clout, financially and politically!

Last summer, with their help, we approached Burnaby City Council as a group, asking if there was anything they could do to support us. They told us, as the property was already zoned R3, the new owner had every right to subdivide. They did write a nice letter asking the developer to "play nice" with us, though. And we managed to make the front pages of the Burnaby Now and The NewsLeader.

Grandview Motel & Trailer Park is one of more than five manufactured home parks that I have heard from recently. Something must be done! If the District of Langford can proactively meet these issues with policy changes
(link to policy changes at http://district.langford.bc.ca/documents/brochures/Manufactured%20Home%20Policy.pdf), there should be every expectation that the Province will show similar leadership.

There is no need for 43,000 manufactured homes located in Manufactured Home Parks in British Columbia to be destroyed, resulting in loss of home and community, due to legislative negligence in addressing the issues facing this industry. In February 2007, McClanaghan & Associates 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 .

Please send your concerns directly to Honourable Rich Coleman, Minister Responsible for Housing in British Columbia at rich.coleman.mla@leg.bc.ca. May I suggest that you cc Premier Gordon Campbell at premier@gov.bc.ca as well as your local MLA (email addresses can be found at http://www.leg.bc.ca/mla/3-1-1.htm).

“Be the change you want to see in the world” Mahatma Gandhi...

Your action and support is most appreciated!

If you have comments, I would love to hear from you!

Please email me at tawelch@shaw.ca or reply to this Blog entry.

many thanks,

Terrill Welch
Spokes person and resident

on behalf of Pedder Bay Residents

Donations can be made by paypal at http://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