Homeless in Vernon allowed to camp in public parks without time limits

If homeless shelters are full, people have the right to find shelter and sleep in public places in Vernon.

The news comes after Vernon City Council struck down a proposed bylaw amendment that would place time limits on when a person can sleep in public parks.

The council voted down the motion six votes to one.

"Homeless are allowed to find shelter on public space. They've been camping in certain parks in our area, namely Poulson Park in the back-end... for years,” said Vernon City Mayor Akbal Mund. “What was brought forward by a counselor was to put a time limit on their camping. Like other cities have done like Victoria, Chilliwack, Abbotsford, and Victoria... They limit the time a person can be sleeping in a park or camping in the park as they call it. So it was brought up at Council here too that we should limit the time too.

According to Mund, the Council opposed the amendment because they were unsure of the ramifications it could have on the homeless population as well as the general Vernon community.

“It was turned down in a six-one vote. The main reason is why would you remove people from a site where you know where they are? Where are they going to go? So the rest of the council thought, well, we don't have a solution for them to go anywhere so why would we want to move them when we know already know they're contained to a certain spot? They could all go downtown, but then how is that going to affect the rest of the community?”

Ultimately, the decision to strike down the amendment meant the current laws regarding sleeping and camping in public places would remain in place.

“So nothing changed, it was just a suggestion by one council member to have a time limit on when they could camp in the park. So that would be like Victoria did, 7.00 p.m. to 7.00 a.m. and then make them move their stuff... we said no, so everything in our community remains the same as it was before this was brought up,” said Mund.

According to the Vernon Mayor, the only occasion in which the City could ask a homeless person to leave a public park is if there’s available room in the homeless shelters.

“They're still allowed to sleep in public spaces if they want, it's their right according to the Charter of Human Rights. As a municipal government we can't ask them to leave, the only time we can ask them to leave if there's room in the shelters,” said Mund. “We can ask them to leave the park if we have room in shelters, that's according to provincial legislation. When shelters are full, they still have a right to camp somewhere in a public space.”

Given the recent developments out of Vernon, it begs the question: What are the rules regarding camping in Kelowna’s public parks?

According to the rules outlined in Kelowna’s Parks and Public Spaces Bylaw, no person shall be allowed to set up camp or sleep overnight in public parks or spaces without prior written approval of the City.

Specifically, these are the key measures outlined in the bylaw regarding camping out in Kelowna’s public parks and spaces.

• Definition of Camping Equipment: Camping equipment includes portable cooking equipment, sleeping bags or rolls, backpacks or packsacks, tents, tarps or lean-tos.
• Definition of Campsite: A campsite includes any place of temporary abode and any place where Camping Equipment are left or stored.
• 3.17 No Person shall erect, construct or build any tent, building, shelter, pavilion or other construction whatsoever, or penetrate the ground with any object including stakes or posts, without prior written approval of the City.
• 3.30 No Person shall establish or set up a Campsite in a Park or Public Space unless prior written permission is obtained from the City.
• 3.31 No Person commits an offence under section 3.30 by bringing Camping Equipment into a Park that is used for picknicking or while the Person takes temporary, but not overnight, respite in a Park or Public Space other than a parkade, or where authorized by a permit issued under section 4.3.
• 4.3 The City may issue, upon written request for a special event or special occasion, a permit as outlined in the Outdoor Events Bylaw No. 8358, for such persons and vehicles as the City permits, to enter or be in a specific Park while or during such times as the Park is closed. Such permit shall be displayed in such vehicle, face up on the dash on the driver's side and visible from the exterior of the vehicle, and the Person or persons shall carry on their Person such access permit and shall present same on request to any Bylaw Enforcement Officer or peace officer for the City.

However, although people aren’t allowed to camp overnight in Kelowna’s public parks or spaces, the City is reportedly moving forward with an initiative to address the prevalence of homelessness.

According to Sue Wheeler, the new initiative is called Journey Home and its aim is to develop a strategy that will effectively address homelessness.

“The name really demonstrates that we are on a journey as a community in learning to work together in a new collaborative and innovative way to really bring all the different supports and services and housing providers that work to support people that are homeless,” said Wheeler. “It's a systems approach, a model that's been used across Canada in communities such as Medicine Hat. One of the beginning things is to work to decide who will take leadership in convening all the diverse players and stakeholders and people with experience to have a discussion about building a system approach in Kelowna. That's underway and Kelowna agreed to take leadership.The next step is to form the journey home task force that will oversee the work.”

What are your thoughts on this issue? Did Vernon make the right decision in striking down the bylaw amendment that would have established time limits? Furthermore, should homeless people be allowed to camp out in Kelowna’s public parks with or without time restrictions?

We want to hear from you! Let us know your thoughts in the comments below or by e-mailing news@kelownanow.com.