‘Live-aboard’ boat residents to get heave-ho
City slated to take over MacDonald Marine on May 31
The city’s grand waterfront redevelopment will force residents who live year-round in boats on the west harbour to find new homes next month — despite pleas from their marina operator to stay.
MacDonald Marine’s 20-year lease with the city to run a boat repair business and marina on the shores of Macassa Bay runs out May 31. Owner Sandy MacDonald, son of the late former mayor Jack MacDonald, said Tuesday he is still lobbying for a three-year lease extension — even though a new city report has firmly squelched that idea.
“There’s no good reason to push me out,” he said, adding his immediate neighbour, the Macassa Bay Yacht Club, is allowed to stay in the tiny bay just east of Bayfront Park under the city’s long-planned, $140-million west harbour revamp.
MacDonald also noted an unspecified number of boat slip renters who actually live in their vessels in the marina — on the water or dry docked in winter — will effectively be evicted from their home.
One of those live-aboard boaters, Rod Paget, told The Spectator last fall he was part of a “little community” of permanent nautical neighbours who during the previous winter numbered around 20. He said it would be a “damn shame” if the harbourloving residents were forced out.
It’s unclear how many permanent boat residents remain in the bay, but Paget previously told The Spectator he shrink-wraps his 30-foot boat, The Shamrock, in winter to retain heat and protect against weather damage.
At least 10 vessels similarly wrapped in a mixture of tarps and plastic were bobbing at the
marina Tuesday morning. Little trails of breakfast barbecue smoke floated skyward from two boats, while one man ran a small dog up and down a gated dock.
Two boat inhabitants approached by The Spectator declined to give their names Tuesday, but confirmed they lived aboard and had yet to find a new permanent dock to call home.
City officials reiterated to councillors at a west harbour project committee Tuesday they will not offer a lease extension to MacDonald Marine — in part, because the city wants to relocate the Hamilton police marine unit into the space this fall to keep the entire $140-million harbour revamp on track.
The move needs to happen soon, said harbour redevelopment point person Chris Phillips, because the existing marine unit building on Pier 7 is old. It’s located on part of the harbour shoreline that is prone to flooding and
in need of major repairs slated for this year. Separate environmental work to improve fish habitat is also needed in Macassa Bay.
The eventual new police facility is expected to cost the city in the ballpark of $4 million, but the city is first working on a “temporary relocation” for the unit this fall in the area of MacDonald Marine, said Phillips.
But it is not yet clear how quickly or easily the city will be able to take over the waterfront space.
A city report says MacDonald has been “unresponsive” to repeated city requests for details about how or when he will vacate the property, or whether there is a “transition plan” for the live-in boaters. The original $12,500-ayear lease called for the operator to remove all leaseholder-added buildings at the end of the term.
As a result, he said the city has posted signs around the marina
warning users of the impending need to vacate and even reached out directly to some of the marina boat slip tenants.
Phillips wouldn’t speculate on what the city would do if either MacDonald or his tenants remained
past the end of the lease deadline. “We want to have dialogue on these issues, but you need two parties to have dialogue,” he said.
A number of live-in boaters contacted ward Coun. Jason Farr looking for details early this year, he said Tuesday. Farr said he referred the residents to city project staff to get more information about the plans. “What surprised me … it appeared some of them were not even aware of the deadline.”
Farr acknowledged feeling some “sadness” at the impending disappearance of the marina, which has existed in various forms for decades. But he also emphasized city council voted on the takeover plan in 2010 and the notice was “pretty reasonable.” The city signed a 20-year lease with MacDonald in 1998.