Homeless people might be allowed to sleep later in Victoria parks after the city reviews its parks bylaw.
Councillors Ben Isitt and Jeremy Loveday won backing from their colleagues when they called for a legal review in the wake of a B.C. Supreme Court ruling dealing with homeless people sleeping in parks in Abbotsford.
In finding last month that Abbotsford’s bylaws prohibiting camping in parks are unconstitutional, Chief Justice Christopher Hinkson’s ruled that homeless people can erect shelters in public spaces and parks from 7 p.m. to 9 a.m.
In contrast, Victoria’s parks bylaw specifies 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. or between 8 p.m. and 7 a.m., when daylight time is in effect.
Isitt said the difference in tenting hours “jumped out” as a potential inconsistency in the bylaws but that council’s direction is for a broader review of the judgment.
“In the near-term, this may look like adopting the time limits that the judge recommended for Abbotsford, if our staff think that’s advisable,” Isitt said.
“But really I think a hard look at that court decision probably, hopefully, will just light a fire under the city to continue to move forward with more permanent housing options.”
The call for Victoria’s bylaw review is supported by the Pivot Legal Society, which has written to council urging it to extend the time homeless people are allowed to keep shelters up in parks to bring it in line with the court ruling.
Allowing park camping from 7 p.m. to 9 a.m. “provides not only much-needed sleep and protection from the elements, it also increases the ability of service providers to connect those individuals with the services and housing they need,” says the Pivot letter.
Isitt is a strong supporter of establishing temporary tent cities so that homeless people are not constantly forced to dismantle, move and reassemble their shelters.
In his ruling, Hinkson noted: “I am satisfied that the evidence … establishes that continual displacement of the city’s homeless causes them impaired sleep and serious psychological pain and stress and creates a risk to their health.”
Isitt said while an extra two hours of sleep is a benefit, “there’s still the bigger issue of having to relocate one’s shelter — dismantle and reassemble and relocate one’s shelter every day — that has a pretty destabilizing impact.”
This summer, Victoria council was eyeing Topaz Park as a site for a temporary tent city. The hope was that if a specific spot were designated, homeless people would use it instead of camping in parks throughout the city. But the city backed off those plans after hundreds of neighbours objected.
Isitt said he would still like to see designated tenting areas.
“I continue to believe that one or several temporary designated tenting areas would be better for the people sheltering in parks, better for the people living near the parks and better for the whole community,” Isitt said.
“The challenge is just what are those acceptable sites in the city, and to date we haven’t been able to find them.”
The city continues to bear the costs of people sheltering in parks.
A request for $313,000 has come from the parks department to pay for extending hours and providing security for washrooms at Beacon Hill and Stadacona parks until 2:30 every morning and to put portable toilets at Topaz Park for campers.
The money would also pay for cleanup of areas used by people sheltering in parks and disposal of discarded items.
