People can’t live in recreational vehicles because of town laws
A Bridgewater couple says they’ve lived in an RV for two years and had a flood on their property, but it’s the town hall that has them looking for a new home during Nova Scotia’s housing crisis.
Kim Nicholson and her husband Bolton both said, “I was going to put up a sign that said, ‘Town of Bridgewater, you win.'”
After the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the Nicholsons left British Columbia and moved to the United States. Bolton said that Kim had been “singing the song of Nova Scotia” to try to persuade him for years. Kim said that during a youth volunteer trip to the province, she fell in love with it, so she and her husband bought a piece of land on Pine Street in Bridgewater.
They used to rent a house in another part of Lunenburg County, but when that house sold, Kim said they didn’t have many options left.
So, Bolton, who had worked as a builder for most of his life, cut down trees and cleared the land by hand. In the summer of 2021, they finally had enough space to put a camper there.
“It wasn’t perfect, and I fought against that. Kim said, “I didn’t want to be here, but it was better than nothing.”
The Nicholsons wanted to build a small house on their land, but they said the pandemic and a disagreement over where their property lines were put a hold on their plans.
Bolton said he’s still been busy. He planted a big vegetable garden, brought in gravel, got a shipping container for storage, and built a covered wooden porch on the RV to hold a furnace so they could stay warm in the winter.
“Everything here has been about survival, and it’s like, we took care of ourselves. Kim, who works for the government, said, “We didn’t ask for help.”
The order to get rid of the RV came in late June
Bolton said that he finally has the plans for their house and that he plans to start the process of getting a building permit from the town soon.But the couple can no longer stay in the RV.
Tammy Crowder, the town’s chief administrative officer, said that the town’s land-use bylaw doesn’t let people live in RVs on their property for any length of time if they don’t have a main building. Bridgewater made it official that the RV needs to be taken away on June 27.
Crowder also said that people have complained about the property, saying that there are open fires and other safety problems.
“We have to enforce our rules, and I think the fact that we’ve been working with them for the past two years shows that we do care about the situation they’re in,” Crowder said.
Kim said that she missed the seven-day deadline to appeal the order because it was a long weekend, and she was “in shock” about where they would go.
Bolton said, “I can’t believe we’re in this situation when the whole town is yelling, “Housing problem!””Why can’t you let people who want to build a house do it?”
The Nicholsons said that a town employee who came to explain why they couldn’t live in the RV was “decent.”
“He said, ‘Well, the bylaw doesn’t say you can’t be in a tent,'” Kim remembered. “I believe he was trying to give us a choice… at the same time, that’s a great choice.”
Crowder said she “didn’t know” that was said and would have to find out if a tent would be allowed in this case.
A couple says their neighbors are mean
The Nicholsons said they know their neighbors want them to move out. When Bolton first got there with a machete to cut down some bushes, the town police told him to drop his “weapon.”
Bolton said, “That still scares the living hell out of me.”
Bolton said that once he told the police what he was doing, they apologized and told him that a neighbor had told them about a strange person with a machete in the area.
Since then, the Nicholsons say that people in the area have talked to them about Bolton cutting down trees and making other changes to his property.
Now, Bolton has said that he wants to sell the land.
“The way the town and the people around me treat me here is not okay. I’ve been to many places in Canada. He said, “I’ve never had this before.”
“I just can’t handle it. I’m too old to have to deal with heartache like this.”
Damage from floo
The Nicholsons were also among the many Nova Scotians whose homes were flooded by the huge rainstorm last weekend.The creek that ran through their land overflowed, causing damage.
Kim sent an email to the town requesting more time to move the RV. Crowder told CBC News that the town had given the Nicholsons an extra 30 days, but as of Thursday afternoon, the couple still hadn’t heard from town officials directly.
Nearly a week after the Nicholsons asked for more time, on Friday morning, the town took back its order to take away the RV. They are now working on the situation in a “different direction” by putting the Nicholsons in touch with a housing support group.
As long as the couple doesn’t live in the RV, it could stay on the property.
Bolton said it’s hard to believe that Nova Scotia has been hit by so many natural disasters recently.
“We didn’t die in the fire. We didn’t leave because of the storm. He said, “The town kicked us out.”