Bridgewater couple left homeless after town orders them to leave RV on own land

A Bridgewater couple says they've weathered two years in an RV and a flood on their property, but it's the town hall that has them looking for a new home amid Nova Scotia's housing crisis.

"I was gonna put a sign saying 'Town of Bridgewater, you win,'" Kim Nicholson said alongside her husband, Bolton.

The Nicholsons moved from British Columbia after the COVID-19 pandemic hit. For years, Kim had been "singing the song of Nova Scotia" to convince him, Bolton said. Kim said she'd fallen in love with the province during a youth volunteer trip, so they bought a plot of land on Pine Street in Bridgewater. 

They were originally renting a home elsewhere in Lunenburg County, but when that sold Kim said they were left with few choices. 

So, 85-year-old Bolton — who had a career in construction — began cutting trees and clearing the land by hand. Eventually they had enough room to put a camper in the summer of 2021.

"It wasn't perfect, believe me, I fought it. I didn't want to be here, but it was better than nothing," Kim said.

The Nicholsons planned to build a small home on their land, but said the pandemic and a dispute over their property boundaries caused delays. 

Bolton said he's still been busy: He planted a large vegetable garden, brought in gravel, got a shipping container for storage and built a covered wooden porch on the RV to house a furnace so they could stay warm in the winter.

"It's all been survival here — and it's like, we took care of ourselves. We didn't ask for help," said Kim, who works as a civil servant.

Bolton said he finally has the blueprints in hand for their home, and planned to start the building permit process with the town soon. But the couple's time in the RV has run out.

The town's chief administrative officer, Tammy Crowder, said the land-use bylaw doesn't allow people to live in recreational vehicles on their property for any length of time if there isn't a main building. Bridgewater issued an official order for the RV to be removed on June 27.

Crowder said they have also received complaints about the property, with people reporting open fires and other safety issues.

"We're required to enforce our bylaws and I think that it's demonstrated that we do sympathize with the situation they're in, because we've been working with them for the last two years," Crowder said.

Kim said she missed appealing the order within the seven-day deadline as it was over a long weekend, and she was "in shock" about where they would go.