Oak Bay is creating a mayor's task force assigned to figure out whether to implement a system of managed mooring buoys that could be a solution to the the free-for-all of anchored boats in district waters.
The hope is that a program such as this could stem the tide of derelict and abandoned boats polluting area waters and beaches.
The district council heard a presentation on the subject at the Monday (July 22) council meeting from Chris Coates, a consultant hired to provide a report with an initial overview of the problem, along with potential solutions.
"Unmanaged and unregulated moorage is an issue in many communities, and certainly it is in the Capital Region," Coates told councillors.
A group of residents in Cadboro Bay — part of which is in the District of Oak Bay — have been pushing for managed moorage for some time now, trying to convince Oak Bay to apply for a license of occupation from the provincial government to create a buoy campground of sorts to be managed by the local yacht club.
Presenting his report on Monday, Coates began by describing several issues that result from unregulated moorage, including ecosystem damage from waste discharge, impacts on eel grass beds from dragging anchors, damage to cultural sites, foreshore impacts from people accessing their boats and crime he said is associated with people living on boats.
Coates also went over the many interacting jurisdictions involved. Agencies with some say over coastal waters include Transport Canada, the Coast Guard, the provincial government, the regional district and local municipalities.
He explained that Oak Bay does have zoning authority over the water that is within the district boundaries, but also noted some municipal zoning regulations intended to prevent people anchoring in an area overnight have been successfully challenged in court in other parts of B.C.
West Kelowna had its boat mooring bylaw challenged in court and lost, with the judge finding there is an inherent right to shelter as long as it does not impeded navigation. Victoria had more success kicking liveaboards out of the Gorge waterway, but at significant operational and legal expense, Coates said.
At the time he prepared the report, Coates said there were roughly 40 boats moored in Oak Bay, and 35 to 40 in Cadboro Bay.
He determined that four of those in Cadboro Bay were long-term liveaboards, though he was unable to provide a similar estimate for Oak Bay.
For now, he went over options that include simply maintaining the status quo, using a system of private mooring buoys or allowing the district itself to charge a fee for moorage. Any system of moorage charges would require applying for a license of occupation from the provincial government.
That would also require "a fairly complex" management plan, according to his report.
Though council passed a motion to create the task force at the Monday meeting, any actual regulatory or bylaw changes will need to come back to council before implementation.
