'Sleepy little community' about to get moved out

Many of the 80 live-aboard boaters facing eviction from Vancouver's False Creek in a few weeks say they can't afford to move into marinas.

They have been permanently moored in the waterway, which the city wants to clear out to make room for visiting boats.

The city has been trying to move them out for a decade, but the federal Marine Act allowed boaters to drop anchor in the waterway as long as they didn't present a hazard to marine traffic.

That legislation was amended late last year to limit boaters to 14 days a month moorage, and allows the city to take action to enforce that limit. And with that change, it will begin to do so beginning next month.

• LINK: City backgrounder: Anchoring in False Creek

Brian Sereda has been anchored in False Creek for eight years. But he says he's living on a small disability pension, and can't afford to tie his boat up at a marina.

"These people across the way with the big yachts, they can afford to live there. That's fine. I can't afford to live there. So is this going to be a lifestyle just for the rich?"

The city says the anchored boats are a pollution problem and a navigation hazard.

Neil Dayson, who has his boat tied up at a nearby marina agrees.

"There's all the boats that come in and out of there, commercial traffic and so on. And also the danger if they drift down into [the] marina and damage all the boats as well."

The boat owners could face fines of up to $500 if they don't move out within 30 days.

Bill Sassaman, whose 44-foot sloop has been anchored in False Creek for three months, says he can't afford to move. He plans to fight any fine in court.

"When they throw people out of here, it's going to be 30 to 35 affordable housing units that the city has to replace."

The city says it will help find accommodation for boaters who can't afford to move. But Judy Graves of the Tenant Assistance Program said it will be hard on some of them.

"It's like a Steinbeck novel. It's a sleepy little community of people who know each other... older guys, gentle guys, who just want to live alone, undisturbed, on the water. And it will be very difficult for them as they have to move on."