Coun. Ben Isitt had proposed banning overnight sheltering in Haegert, Cridge, Kings and Arbutus parks, arguing the four parks are too small and too close to residents to be used for overnight sheltering. The ban on camping in the four small parks would not take effect until campers and neighbouring residents were consulted and temporary housing options considered.
But the item was withdrawn from the committee agenda at the suggestion of Mayor Lisa Helps.
“It will wait and come back to this table when we have a comprehensive report from staff that we directed a couple of weeks ago to come up with … solutions for how to handle this problem,” Helps said.
Homeless people seeking shelter in city parks is becoming a significant issue for council and residents.
The proposal to extend the camping ban prompted a call from James Bay Neighbourhood Association president Marg Gardiner to ban overnight camping in more than a dozen parks in James Bay.
Gardiner argued the city shouldn’t create winners and losers by banning camping in some parks but not others. She wrote to Victoria council asking that a dozen more parks and green spaces be added to the no-camping list.
City officials estimate several hundred people routinely camp overnight in city parks and green spaces, leading to noise and nuisance complaints, as well as destruction of ecosystems and the accumulation of trash that has to be hauled away. They estimate the annual cost at more than $600,000, including police, bylaw and parks staff time.
The number of campers in city parks has been on the rise since 2009, when the B.C. Court of Appeal ruled that, in the absence of available shelter beds, it is unconstitutional to prohibit someone from erecting temporary shelter in a park.
To comply with the ruling, the city amended its parks bylaw to allow people to erect tents in parks between 7 p.m. (8 p.m. during daylight time) and 7 a.m. Bylaw officers and police conduct patrols to wake people and move them on in the mornings.
In this year’s city budget, councillors increased spending for social housing initiatives to $1 million from $250,000 and will consider initiatives such as piloting micro-housing — ground-level shelters about the size of a garden shed.
The city’s parks regulation bylaw prohibits erection of shelters in a playground, sports field, footpath, a road within a park, Bastion Square, environmentally sensitive areas or any area of a park designated for a special event.
Environmentally sensitive areas include all of Moss Rock Park, Summit Park and Cecelia Cove Park. The Garry oak stands in Topaz Park and Robert Porter Park and several areas of Beacon Hill Park are also protected.
