Close to 1,000 people have
opposed to the Vancouver Maritime Museum’s plan to allow a floating hydrotherapy spa in a public dock managed by the museum.
The petition, organized by Vancouver filmmaker Elvira Lount, says the plan to permanently moor a 45-metre barge in the small Heritage Harbour Marina “would permanently alter the character of our cherished marina and obstruct the gorgeous views from both the park (Vanier Park) and the West End.”
It goes on to state that
“while we appreciate the financial needs of the maritime museum, this particular proposal is clearly a bad fit for this location due to its oversized footprint and potential negative impact on marine life, the existing marina and neighbourhood, and should be rejected.”
Heritage Harbour Marina was built in the 1980s as a public waterfront amenity. It’s used to showcase heritage vessels, host floating art and residential installations, and has a False Creek Ferries stop. The Oarlock and Sail Wooden Boat Club also has a floating workshop on the dock.
In January, the maritime museum requested that the City of Vancouver change the zoning on its land at 1905 Ogden Ave. to permit mooring a barge in that harbour.
In its supporting documents, the museum stated the rezoning goal was “to expand use of the harbour as a moorage site for higher-rent vessels such as commercially operated floating businesses, in particular health and wellness facilities that expand public recreation and draw visitors to the museum.”
It went on the say “this is a unique opportunity for the VMM (museum) to increase earned revenue to cover the funding gap as operational costs continue to increase and government grants have stagnated for the last 20 years.”
Opponents believe the wording of the museum’s request could open the door for more for-profit facilities to set up in the harbour.
The museum, west of Vanier Park, was opened in 1959 as a public educational facility, research centre and custodian of significant maritime artifacts like the St. Roch RCMP vessel. This ship is the museum’s centrepiece and was the first vessel to cross from the Pacific to the Atlantic via the Northwest Passage (in 1942) and the first to do that trip in both directions.
The rezoning request is supported by a November 2025 motion from Vancouver Coun. Sarah Kirby-Yung that asked city council to permit a spa barge, operated by Havn Sauna, to be moored in the harbour. In her motion, which was approved by council, Kirby-Yung argued Havn would offer a “people-centred, low impact waterfront activation.”
Havn already operates a floating spa moored in Victoria harbour, with a three-hour visit for one person costing around $100. The Vancouver barge would be similar in size, with cold pools, hot pools and saunas.
A new utility dock would need to be built to secure the spa barge, which would be about 10 metres above sea level with a floor space of 13,800 square feet.
On Monday, museum director David Jordan said all infrastructure upgrades including docks would be paid for by Havn.
“The terms of the sublease including the amount of rent are not yet finalized because rezoning is not yet complete,” Jordan said. “The sublease is intended to provide significant, long-term and stable income to the museum.”
According to a statement shared by a city spokesperson, “there is no minimum number of signatures required for city council to review a petition, and petitions do not require the support or sponsorship of a city official.”
Petitions from citizens are handled as public correspondence. Regardless of how many people sign a petition, it is still counted as a single piece of correspondence and recorded as such under the name of a single contact person.
Lount hasn’t said how many signatures she’s aiming to collect.
With files from Stephanie Ip
