The District of Maple Ridge is cracking down on the temporary tents many residents use to store vehicles and boats through the winter.
Robin Morgan lives on 207th Street, and recently received a letter from the district informing him the 200-square-foot white canvas tent he uses to house his 18-foot pleasure boat for the winter had to go.
“I don’t see what the problem is,” he said. The tent is anchored to the concrete so it won’t blow away, and he even asked his neighbours if they had an issue with it.
“They don’t have a problem,” he said. “I don’t see the harm.”
The letter Morgan received from the district, and was received by several of his neighbours with similar structures, quoted a zoning bylaw which prohibits the use of any tent or trailer.
“According to the bylaw, I can’t even put up a tent in the backyard for my grandkids to play in,” he said.
Technically, that’s true, says Liz Holitzki, the District of Maple Ridge’s director of licensing, permits, and bylaws.
The issue isn’t that tents are an eyesore, she said, it’s safety.
“There’s no standards for these structures,” Holitzki said.
Tents aren’t made to handle snow loads, and could easily blow away in high winds, causing damage to neighbouring properties. Should the car or boat housed in the tent get damaged by snow or wind, the insurance claim could be nullified.
“The first thing we’re asked by insurance companies is if these structures are legal,” she said. “If they aren’t, that’s it, no claim.”
Form-fitting boat covers are allowed under the bylaw, as is polyethylene plastic marine shrink wrap.
Tarps, however, are not.
“If there is any sort of air space between the cover and the car or boat, then it is not allowed,” said Holitzki.
If the tents don’t go, a fine could be levied between $100 and $300, per day.
The tents are a common sight in many neighbourhoods, but Holitzki said bylaw officers aren’t driving up and down the streets looking for these sorts of infractions.
“If you get a letter, then someone has filed a complaint,” she said.