As waterfront property…

As waterfront property owners living beside a neighbour who has (without permit) constructed structures which clearly fall in the category of “floating home” (they are pinned into the St. Lawrence riverbed, are uninsured, have never been inspected, and are not easily movable) we welcome this series of proposed changes to current regulations. We are very pleased to see that these regulations will address our concerns about pollution, environmental integrity, insurance and liability, and the issues surrounding permits and building standards, etc.

We would like to articulate what we consider the most important values we see in the proposed changes to current regulations:

- the regulations appear to exclude self-propelled water vehicles (like sailboats and yachts) and this is commendable. There is, generally speaking and from our perspective, no significant problem arising from the ‘reasonable’ mooring and over-night ‘camping’ activities on these types of vessels.

-the restrictions should apply to structures and barges (which are not self-propelled like sailboats and yachts) which might otherwise be claimed to be “moored” at a dock in public waters. In other words, owners of waterfront property should not be permitted to construct barges and/or float homes without public consultation, and without obtaining permits from MNRF and their respective municipalities. These float homes should otherwise not be permitted to remain moored in the water in front of the owners’ property.

-The restrictions should not apply to commercially operating barges, whose purpose does not include accommodation (for example, barges which are for waterfront restoration or dock installations, etc).
We are in agreement with the need for some regulated distance between any permitted float homes and other developed property and shorelines.

-We feel strongly that there must be a requirement that any such permitted structure or float home must have sufficient liability insurance, and that it must be inspected to ensure it meets reasonable construction standards and careful management of fuel, waste water, and other pollutants.

We are particularly concerned that the new proposed restrictions and regulations be made to apply to floating homes, barges, and structures built and placed in waterways before these regulations are approved. In other words, we do not believe that “grandfathering” is appropriate, and we hope these new regulations will apply retroactively to improperly and un-permitted float homes and structures installed to date. This should not apply to legally built communities of floating homes approved by their municipalities and MNRF.