Notice to vacate

No one remembers exactly how or when Triangle Road Boat co-op started. We knew the property was owned by some doctor who bought it years ago for speculation. Over the years, when one person completed his boat and was ready to move on, he would pass on the responsibility of collecting rents, paying the doctor what he wanted, pay for the power, toilet facilities such as they were, and look after the operation of the yard.

When I moved into the yard, I paid 75.00 a month rent. Not to Roger, who owned the shed, but to the yard for the space the shed occupied. Roger did not want any rent, just the right to use his shed for projects whenever he wanted. I helped him build a 50-foot wing mast in there while I was working on my floats.

After the yard being in existence for 20 some odd years, you sort of feel a permanence to the place. No one ever thought there would be any real problem. We were way off in the boon docks of Richmond, in swampy land, away from any housing or commercial developments.

In a place like this there are always rumors. It was like when I was in the Air Force, if you had not heard a rumor by 9 AM, start one. Some one heard they were going to develop the property next door. One of the boat builders had a friend of a friend, who was on Richmond city council. No, there were no plans to develop the property next door. It was going to be a good 5 to 10 years before any development plans would be approved for the area. There were no services, roads and power had to be upgraded, etc. Normal politician…full of shit.

I came back to the shed after a trip to the suppliers to find a notice stapled to my front door.

YOU WILL REMOVE ANY EQUIPMENT, PROPERTY, BUILDINGS, STRUCTURES, VEHICLES, OR ANY OTHER ITEMS NOT PERTAINING TO THIS PROPERTY.

YOU WILL REMOVE THE ABOVE MENTIONED ITEMS WITHIN 30 DAYS OF THIS NOTICE DATE.

THIS PROPERTY WILL BE LEVELED BY BULLDOZER ON THE 31ST DAY.