The City of Cranbrook will soon introduce a bylaw that would ban camping and temporary structures in certain areas of the community.
The city said administrative staff will be working to draft a bylaw that would allow tents and temporary structures to be taken down on public lands, with no camping allowed in designated City parks, recreational areas or within the vicinity of schools, creeks, etc.
In the meantime, Cranbrook will continue to manage camping on public lands as it has before, with clean-ups of the areas following a fire, excessive garbage, or the area having become unsightly, which will be determined by the Engineering and Development Services department.
City officials said BC Courts allow the province’s municipalities to develop no-camping zones, but it also expects communities to allow areas in city limits where vulnerable populations can take shelter.
“Council has received reports from numerous experts and agencies, including our legal counsel, and considered various options to deal with encampments,” said Mayor Wayne Price. “Currently, we feel this is the best option available to provide the City with some form of control of our local situation. We will consider other potential proven solutions that may develop as we move forward.”
According to city staff, the future bylaw would keep certain areas of Cranbrook protected from encampments and reduce the number of overall tents.
“Other benefits would include a reduced population of individuals ‘living rough’ as more of them will seek proper shelter and accommodations that would allow them to store their belongings, bicycles, shopping carts and other necessities,” said city officials. “Hoarding items would also not be allowed, reducing the number of unsightly areas staff must regularly clean up.”
This move comes as Cranbrook has seen an increase in the number of homeless people in the community along with a heightened number of visible tent encampments.
“Council is actively aware of the challenges of homelessness and the issues homelessness brings to the community,” said city staff. “Communities everywhere are struggling with this issue, and although there is no working solution for Cranbrook to copy, we are learning best practices and sharing information with other communities with this same issue.”
The city has a pair of restraints put on them by the B.C. government regarding how homeless encampments are dealt with:
- An encampment on public land can only be taken down if there is room at a homeless shelter.
- An encampment can be moved during the day to allow for cleanup before being allowed to return in the evening. This cannot be done in the winter.
Additionally, it is a constitutional right for people to take shelter, and BC Courts support vulnerable people who are setting up temporary shelters in public areas.
City officials said staff will begin drafting the new bylaw, which is expected to come forward to city council for discussion and approval soon.
