Keith Newcomb doesn't believe the District of West Kelowna's claim that its newly obtained Water 1 Zone Bylaw gives it jurisdiction over the entire district waterfront to the middle of Okanagan Lake. Now, he's going to have to go to court to prove it. Newcomb is a houseboat owner recently evicted, along with several other houseboat operators, from Gellatly Bay. He eventually dropped anchor in front of Kalamoir Regional Park near Casa Loma.
"West Kelowna got their license of occupation for Gellatly Bay which gave them permission to remove boats from there. They did their due process and any boats that were in there left," says Newcomb. "The rules are we had to leave so we did. Now West Kelowna is trying to say they have jurisdiction over all their shoreline." Newcomb says the municipality, through the bylaw, claims their zone covers the entire West Kelowna waterfront to the middle of Okanagan Lake. "We don't think so." Lawyers for the District of West Kelowna have gone to the B.C. Supreme Court in order to uphold its assertion that the municipality has the legal right under its Water Zone Bylaw (871.202) to remove the boats from the Kalamoir area. "We've hired lawyers to challenge them on that." He says eight boat owners have joined Newcomb in his battle against the municipality.
Newcomb claims it will be bad news for boat owners anywhere in the province if West Kelowna is able to win this court challenge. "Once West Kelowna is able to achieve its goal of having control of the water to the middle of the lake then other municipalities and other cities will do the same thing. Pretty soon, there won't be any anchoring anywhere in B.C. lakes." While most people view this as a houseboat issue, Newcomb says that is just not the case. "Every boater who likes to anchor their boat for the day or overnight, this isn't going to be able to happen because every municipality will say they have water rights to the middle of the lake and there's no anchoring."
Newcomb says it is going to cost between $20,000 and $40,000 to fight the municipality in court. He says he can't afford to fight it alone. "As you may expect this will be a costly endeavor. The question of the legality of the DWK bylaw is already slated for an early hearing in the B.C. Supreme Court. We implore all waterfront owners and all boaters in B.C. for financial assistance to stop this willful attack at our federal and provincial rights to navigate our lake." Anyone interested in helping with the legal challenge can contact Newcomb at againstdwkwaterzone@gmail.com.
"West Kelowna got their license of occupation for Gellatly Bay which gave them permission to remove boats from there. They did their due process and any boats that were in there left," says Newcomb. "The rules are we had to leave so we did. Now West Kelowna is trying to say they have jurisdiction over all their shoreline." Newcomb says the municipality, through the bylaw, claims their zone covers the entire West Kelowna waterfront to the middle of Okanagan Lake. "We don't think so." Lawyers for the District of West Kelowna have gone to the B.C. Supreme Court in order to uphold its assertion that the municipality has the legal right under its Water Zone Bylaw (871.202) to remove the boats from the Kalamoir area. "We've hired lawyers to challenge them on that." He says eight boat owners have joined Newcomb in his battle against the municipality.
Newcomb claims it will be bad news for boat owners anywhere in the province if West Kelowna is able to win this court challenge. "Once West Kelowna is able to achieve its goal of having control of the water to the middle of the lake then other municipalities and other cities will do the same thing. Pretty soon, there won't be any anchoring anywhere in B.C. lakes." While most people view this as a houseboat issue, Newcomb says that is just not the case. "Every boater who likes to anchor their boat for the day or overnight, this isn't going to be able to happen because every municipality will say they have water rights to the middle of the lake and there's no anchoring."
Newcomb says it is going to cost between $20,000 and $40,000 to fight the municipality in court. He says he can't afford to fight it alone. "As you may expect this will be a costly endeavor. The question of the legality of the DWK bylaw is already slated for an early hearing in the B.C. Supreme Court. We implore all waterfront owners and all boaters in B.C. for financial assistance to stop this willful attack at our federal and provincial rights to navigate our lake." Anyone interested in helping with the legal challenge can contact Newcomb at againstdwkwaterzone@gmail.com.
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