Earlier this week, homeless campers moved from their temporary tent city at Goldstream Park to the 5000 block of West Saanich Road after being invited by a renter who lives there.
The property is owned by Sam Seera, but the invitation came from Saanich mayoral candidate David Shebib who lives in the house while his son, Andrew McLean, leases the property.
Seera, the landlord, is concerned about the 20+ campers moving onto his 1.4 acre property, and has found that he can only serve the residents a 30 day eviction notice (which will affect all of the building’s tenants, not just Shebib and the campers), as members of the tent city are protected under Shebib’s tenant right to have guests.
Now, Seera is looking for ways to get the campers off his property earlier, and called for a peaceful rally at 5090 West Saanich Road at 4 p.m. today, just across the street from the newly established tent city.
“We are very sympathetic to the cause but this is not the right way of going about it,” said Seera in his Facebook post announcing the rally.
“Myself and tenants do not want them on the property and we feel they are trespassing. The law abiding community needs to unite and show that our rights matter as well.”
Saanich Police say that they are looking at options to evict the 20+ homeless campers through the Trespass Act and the Residential Tenancy Act, and that the The District of Saanich is viewing the camp as a potential violation of Saanich Zoning Bylaw 8200.
“While efforts are being made to determine who has lawful authority to be on this property, police will closely monitor the camp and respond to any calls for service relating to it,” said Saanich Police.
