A group of nudists in Surrey is celebrating a court ruling that the city cannot prevent them from swimming naked at a local wave pool.

The ruling released Thursday by B.C. Supreme Court Justice Paul Williamson says the city was being unreasonable with Skinnydipper Services, a company that organizes nude swims and other services and events.

A judge has ruled that the City of Surrey cannot prevent skinny-dippers from renting the Newton wave pool just because they swim naked.
(CBC)

"For those who came of age in the 1960s, skinny-dipping would hardly seem to be a threat to the moral fibre of Western civilization," wrote Williamson. "Not so, however, for some of the good burghers of Surrey."

Skinnydipper Services began renting the Newton wave pool in 2003 to hold private nude swims on Sunday nights, with the windows at the indoor pool papered over.

But a local newspaper story about the swims caught the attention of some residents, who complained to City Hall, saying it was inappropriate for the nudists to use a public pool.

The City of Surrey cancelled the rentals, and the nudists went to court in May.
 
The city argued that health regulations require people to wear clean bathing attire in the pool.

But Williamson concluded that rule doesn't necessarily mean people can't go into the pool naked.

He said the field of determining proper attire has been covered by Parliament, and so it's not up to the city to decide how private groups should dress — or not dress — for their private swims.

But the victory appears bittersweet.

The city's lawyer, David Bennett, said the ruling stops short of forcing city officials to allow the nudists to use the pool.

"The findings that the judge made in the decision will certainly be taken into consideration by the City of Surrey when deciding whether or not to issue a permit in similar circumstances," said Bennett.

"But the judgment doesn't compel the City of Surrey to allow the skinny-dippers to use the Newton wave pool should they apply to use it again."

The city has 30 days to appeal Williamson's decision.

Skinnydipper Services hasn't made plans to return to the pool.