Video: Surreal moment two-storey houseboat floats across San Francisco Bay
A large, two-storey houseboat — featuring a white picket fence — has been seen floating across San Francisco Bay after its owners were told to leave the nearby marina.
The floating home was towed through the bay to San Rafael after its owners were asked to leave Redwood City marina, which had once housed over 100 residents.
Local news reports that Redwood city council instructed marina residents to leave as the boats blocked public access to a state waterway. Residents were offered compensation during the eviction, which was part of a legal battle that has been ongoing since 2015.
The watercraft in question was the second-to-last floating home remaining at the California marina. The floating wooden home was anchored in Richardson Bay, offshore from Sausalito, on Tuesday (9 April 2024), according to local reports.
The city of Redwood managed Docktown marina for decades before attorney Ted Hannig and an anonymous group sued the city in 2015. The lawsuit filed by Hannig alleged that the marina is state property that had not been zoned for residential use.
The city eventually paid $1.5m to Hannig and his group and allocated at least $3m to clean up marina pollution.
I saw someone towing a house while crossing the San Francisco Bay today. Where do I go to learn more? Is this the next trend? pic.twitter.com/0yMH0mO366
— Patrick Collison (@patrickc) April 8, 2024
The US Coast Guard monitored the transfer of the boathouse, which was floated on a barge with assistance from a smaller tug boat.
Videos and photos of the house floating under the city’s famous Bay Bridge were posted to social media. The boat is currently in Richardson Bay, but it’s unknown where it will ultimately end up.
Houseboat laws
While houseboats come with challenges, such as finding insurance and increased wear and tear, they are often seen as a way to mitigate the expense of buying a traditional house without downsizing. Many residents of the Redwood City marina fear they’ll have to now leave San Fransisco, which is notorious for its expensive real estate.
Not all houseboats are subject to punitive rulings, however.
In 2022, Miami-Dade County stopped its fight to collect property taxes on a Miami Beach houseboat.
According to the Miami Herald, the property appraiser’s office dropped its effort to declare the Arkup #1 a ‘floating structure’. This means the boat’s owner didn’t have to pay a tax bill of nearly $120,000.
The rectangle-shaped houseboat, anchored off owner Jonathan Brown’s property, includes a kitchen, living room, two bedrooms, gym space and a patio.
The Arkup was being held up as an eco-friendly houseboat, which could serve as a model to help ease the world’s housing crunch.
