The last permanent resident of South Surrey’s Timberland Motel & Campground – along with his 11-year-old American bulldog Ranger – has moved off the property ahead of the impending redevelopment of the site.
Joey Moore, who has lived in an RV at Timberland (3418 King George Blvd.) for the past four years, contacted Peace Arch News last Wednesday after the electricity to his trailer had been cut off.
PAN met with Moore at his trailer Thursday, and he said his water had also been cut off.
Moore said he was told by the owners of Timberland Nov. 15 that he needed to leave the property by Dec. 15, but he told PAN he couldn’t find a dog-friendly place to park his trailer. He said the notice was delivered on a Timberland RV letterhead, and a representative from the Residential Tenancy Branch told him it wasn’t an official eviction notice.
After his services were cut, Moore contacted Surrey bylaw enforcement, RCMP and the Residential Tenancy Branch. He said he was bounced between each organization, and ultimately learned that not much could be done about his situation.
Moore, who purchased a generator to prepare for “the long haul,” said he was intending to live on the Timberland property until he was compensated and found a new place to live.
He said he felt he deserved compensation for helping remove several trailers from the property.
On Friday, Moore contacted PAN and said he had a conversation with the owners of Timberland RV, was granted compensation and found a temporary place to park his trailer at Hazelmere RV Park and Campground (18843 8 Ave.).
He spent Saturday relocating his trailer and said his new arrangement is on a temporary lot that won’t include “hookups,” and that it’s a “grass field.”
“It’s not ideal, but it’s my only resort at this time,” Moore said.
In the meantime, Moore said he will search for a permanent site, or may have to sell his trailer and move into an apartment, which would be “double the money” of the $450 per month he was paying to live at Timberland.
He said it’s becoming increasingly difficult to find a place to live if using an RV trailer as a permanent residence.
“The land is too valuable, the property is too valuable,” Moore said. “Especially (Timberland), because it’s right beside the South Surrey Park and Ride. They develop right around those areas.”
Last year, South Surrey’s Seacrest Motel and RV Park, in the 800-block of 160 Street on the White Rock border, was demolished to make room for 22 single-family lots.
The last remaining Seacrest residents, who went head-to-head with the developer over the eviction notice, ultimately decided to take a settlement package and relocate at the beginning of 2017.
Stephanie Taggart – daughter of William Bray, who purchased Timberland in 1985 – told PAN in May that the family was in the process of selling Timberland to Zenterra Developments, adding that the property was to be developed into townhouses.
The 1.5-hectare (3.8-acre) property has served as a campground since 1953.
PAN was unable last week to connect with Taggart for comment.
A gatekeeper at the park provided a phone number for Bray Enterprises Ltd. – a company Taggart works for, which operated out of the Timberland RV Park office – however, the voice mailbox was not activated.
