A decision about the fate of those sheltering in tents in Vic West Park has been put off for at least two weeks.
Victoria council Thursday opted not to consider a motion to ban overnight sheltering in the park, along with Irving Park in James Bay, until it has seen a staff report on the impact of the move on the city’s parks and homeless population.
City staff started the study in July at council’s request, as it was considering adding Topaz, Hollywood, Stadacona and Regatta Point parks to the list of no-camping sites.
The study is expected to be completed and presented within the next two weeks.
Coun. Jeremy Caradonna said council is aware of the challenges in Vic West Park, Irving Park and other parks, and is not giving up on the “general idea of moving away from the model of sheltering in parks,” but wants to take a purposeful and humane approach that aligns with the law. “The intention more generally here is to ensure that we’re not forcing people to shuffle around between different parks, but that we’re holding ourselves accountable to get people into better sheltering and into housing so that we can solve this problem in a really substantive way.”
Vic West residents have been peppering council and the media with emails, calls and letters about a growing 24-hour encampment in the park.
A number of Vic West residents told the Times Colonist this week that large portions of the park have not been usable for months because of the campsite.
Council did tackle a piece of the thorny issue of homeless camping Thursday by passing two motions — to direct staff to work with the province to create seasonal shelters in the region to operate each year between November and April, and to extend the contract of parks relocation co-ordinators so they can continue their work.
The co-ordinators, funded to the tune of $25,000 this year, were hired to help transition campers from the parks, and to identify designated spaces in the city that could serve as alternatives to sheltering in parks, as well as spots where new supportive housing projects could be established.
Coun. Krista Loughton said working to establish new seasonal shelters is important after a “tough rollout” last year when shelters were not prepared for snow in early November and the city scrambled to accommodate people living in tents.
“By creating more seasonal shelters to operate throughout the winter, that are open every day for people, I think this will solve our problem and will be ready for this year,” she said.
Caradonna said ideally, the province would step in and do the relocation work, but in the absence of senior government action, the city needs to keep it up.
Coun. Dave Thompson said the city is only putting a bandage on the homeless problem, arguing it’s up to senior levels of government to address the underlying causes of homelessness.
“The province is going to need to fully address, with its federal partner, unaffordability of housing, substance use, the need for detox-treatment-recovery pathways that have zero wait times and lead to good outcomes not back onto the street,” he said. “They are going to have to deal with poverty.”
A B.C. Court of Appeal ruling in 2009 found that in the absence of available shelter beds, it’s unconstitutional to prohibit someone from erecting temporary shelter in a park.
A city bylaw allows people experiencing homelessness to shelter overnight in designated parks only from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., but neighbourhood residents have complained the bylaw is not being enforced and campers are keeping their gear around all day.
If overnight sheltering ends up being banned in Topaz, Hollywood, Regatta Point, Stadacona, Vic West and Irving Parks, only three parks with washroom facilities will continue to allow overnight sheltering — Pemberton Park, Gonzales Park and Oaklands Park
There are several parks without washroom facilities where sheltering is allowed. The city also has 23 parks, including Beacon Hill Park, where sheltering is not allowed at any time.
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