The sheltering in neighbourhood parks has been altered by Council decisions made last year, from June through November. While some neighbourhoods feel relief, others feel the effects of more concentrated sheltering.
I and other Councillors had received several pleas from elderly residents who lived near Irving Park, informing us of incidents involving assaults, harassment and intimidation. Some of these pleas were by hand-delivered letters and phone-calls. Many seniors in James Bay may not be aware of the happenings at City Hall, of the decisions made by Victoria City Council . . . and many do not have computers.
While I am a Councillor for all of Victoria, I felt it necessary to respond directly to these residents given the VicPD data table that became known to some Councillors after significant decisions had been made, and the on-going disturbances near Irving Park.
I have not written anything for the neighbourhood newspaper, the James Bay Beacon, for over a year but thought the Beacon might be a way to reach these senior residents. Below is the text submitted to the Beacon in late January. It was printed in the February paper which is currently being distributed. Although the article in the Beacon is a direct letter to those residents, the story of the decision-making may be of interest to all Victoria residents.
The need to make our neighbourhoods safer is important. But equally important is the need to make our downtown areas safer.
I am but one vote on Council, and while pursuing my four objectives, of safe streets, healthy neighbourhoods, fiscal prudence and transparency, I am often a singular but determined voice.
Irving Park: The Forgotten Jewel in James Bay
What has gone wrong with Irving Park? It should be a showcase of how a park can enrich the lives of people who live and work nearby. Instead, Irving Park is the epicentre of tent encampments, fear, crime and disorder in the centre of James Bay.
How did this happen?
To understand, we have to go back to 2011, before City Council began to “pick winners and losers” among city parks and neighbourhoods.
In 2011, the Occupy Victoria protest set up camp on Centennial Square. While that protest was relatively short-lived, other encampments appeared at various locations throughout the city. In 2013 Victoria Council discussed a no-sheltering list of parks. Thus began the game of choosing “winners and losers”.
2015 was a pivotal year in the evolution of attitudes to encampments. A highly visible encampment east of the provincial courthouse, near Christ Church Cathedral, significantly disrupted life in the local area for a year. After it was dismantled and replaced by a children’s playground, we experienced rotating encampments from park to park and municipality to municipality.
With the pandemic came a whole new level of encampments, drugs, and violence to our city. Council voted to permit 24/7 sheltering in parks. The funded, but poorly handled encampment in Topaz Park was dismantled by the end of May, 2020. By then, it was recognised that shelters and tent cities had become magnets for crime. We also heard of people from across BC and other provinces migrating to Victoria’s parks.
Soon, 400 previously unhoused people had been placed in supportive housing in former hotels, with another 275 continuing to live outside. Campers were invited to move to any of 12 chosen city parks, with flyers to assist in choosing a suitable park in which to camp. Thus began the nightmare at Beacon Hill Park, and in James Bay.
Petitions and legal actions ensued. The Friends of Beacon Hill Park led the effort to remove the encampment by invoking the “Begbie” interpretation of the Beacon Hill Park Trust. In 2022, the BC Supreme Court supported the position of the Friends. The province filed an appeal but the position of the Friends was upheld a year later.
The matter came before the current Council in June, 2023. Staff recommended prohibiting overnight sheltering in Beacon Hill Park and Central Park. Bylaw changes were made weeks later.
Throughout 2023, the sheltering in various parks and on Pandora and the Burnside/Ellice areas of the City continued to grow. While BC Housing obtained motels and other structures to house many who had sheltered in open public places, the situation has not improved for residents and business owners who continue to experience crime, noise and disruption near their homes and businesses.
In December of 2023, I enquired as to the number of structures (tents and make-shift structures) that existed compared to a year ago in our parks and public spaces. The count for the first week of December, 2022 was 68 and for the first week of December, 2023 was 133 …. almost a doubling in one year, in spite of all the shelter and supportive housing created by BC Housing in Victoria.
The decisions of City Council regarding which parks were off limits for sheltering explains why Irving Park experienced an increase in sheltering with attendant increases in disruptive and threatening behaviour.
Select parks were added to the Parks Regulation Bylaw prohibiting sheltering via Council Member Motions: June 15 – Motion by Councillor Caradonna (seconded by Mayor Alto) to direct staff to prepare bylaw changes to prohibit tenting in Stadacona Park. June 22 – Motion by Mayor Alto (seconded by Councillor Loughton) to include Topaz, Hollywood and Regatta parks in the bylaw to prohibit tenting. July 6 – Motion by Mayor Alto (seconded by Councillor Kim) to direct staff to combine the bylaw changes for the 3 parks with the bylaw change to prohibit tenting in Stadacona, which would add 4 more parks to the no-sheltering list.
I spoke against these motions because they did not consider the broader impacts of protecting some parks on the inevitable burdening of the remaining parks. I spoke at Council about the problems experienced by residents from VicWest, James Bay, Oaklands, and Gonzales who had contacted Councillors.
During this time, City Councillors received many reports from residents near Irving Park. Specifically, residents in Charter House on Michigan Street, whose windows are mere feet from the Irving Park fence, were subjected to loud music, fights and other disruptions during what should be sleep time. Councillors also heard from, or learned of, several elderly James Bay residents being accosted, threatened, and assaulted.
In January, a Councillor initiated a request to VicPD for police call data. On April 25, three Councillors received VicPD data tables on 19 shelter and park areas in the City. The information was not shared with all Councillors. This was before the series of motions and decisions on which parks would allow camping were made by City Council.
On July 6, Councillor Hammond informed Council that he had just received the April 25 correspondence from VicPD, which he shared with all members of Council.
It was immediately clear that Irving Park was high on the list. Over the 3-year report period, Irving had four times the number of police calls as Stadacona Park.
In my mind, the discussions from April through to early July were tainted as the VicPD data had not been made known to all members of Council.
The issue came to a head at the July 20 meeting of City Council when I introduced an amendment to the bylaw – for Irving Park to be added to the list of parks in which sheltering is prohibited.
Council referred final reading of the revised bylaw and consideration of my proposed amendment until Council received a report from staff which was to consider the implications of changes to the bylaw.
As Mayor Alto moved referral of consideration of the bylaw and amendment she said: “refer further consideration of this matter to staff with direction to report back on the implications of adopting this bylaw.” Mayor Alto also stated the need for more information, giving as rationale “… important to speak as a whole on behalf of all residents in the City, we need to have more information” . . . “to explain to the public.”
On October 5, a three-part motion by Councillors Loughton, Caradonna and Kim was introduced. The second part proposed adding Irving and VicWest parks to the no-sheltering list in June, 2024, if certain conditions were met. Given that the staff report as requested on July 20 was not yet completed, the section about the no-sheltering list was also referred.
In November, the Parks Regulation Bylaw revisions were brought forward for bylaw readings and final approval. This was done without benefit of the staff report which was to provide a full examination of the impacts of the proposed changes. The amendment I forwarded on July 20 to include Irving Park was not included.
The revisions to the Parks Regulation Bylaw were approved (on a motion by Mayor Alto and seconded by Councillor Loughton). The votes on the readings were 8 to 1. On Nov 9, the motion to adopt the revised Bylaw was moved by Councillor Kim and seconded by Councillor Caradonna. The vote to approve was 7 to 1. I was the dissenting vote.
Concluding thoughts:
The no-sheltering list in the bylaw has now been altered. Changes were made without the support of the requested report on implications and without the information needed to make that decision. Further, my amendment which would have protected Irving Park was ignored. Mayor Alto’s commitment to the residents of the City rings hollow.
This disrespect for the residents of James Bay is especially troubling because of the special conditions of Irving Park. The park is located in a seniors’ community (40% of James Bay residents are seniors compared to 30% in Victoria at large). A seniors’ centre, a village centre, neighbourhood daycare facilities, and densely populated high-rise buildings along the fence lines make Irving Park unsuitable for tent encampments.
In summary, the City of Victoria, through directives of City Council over many years, has welcomed the unhoused, transients, and those with drug dependencies. While Victoria has also welcomed more “supportive” and “shelter” housing than the rest of the region, it has put many residents and businesses in parts of Victoria in harm’s way.
Support of the unhoused is critical, but to not show compassion or to protect our other vulnerable residents, our very young and frail elderly, and those who due to physical or mental limitations are not able to protect themselves from assault, is frankly disgraceful.
Our situation has become more complex with court decisions and Provincial government mandates. Court cases, starting with the “2008/2009 Adams Decision”, have created precedents which make it more difficult for municipalities to direct those needing or wanting to shelter. Further, the provincial government, through Bill 45, may download housing responsibilities to municipalities.
I want to emphasize that the growth of number of homelessness people, especially among those with mental illness, is shameful, and was years in the making while the provincial government failed to provide safe therapeutic living situations for those without capacity to care for themselves. However, it is also shameful that the residents of James Bay be subjected to harassment and on-going disorder.
There are ways this concentration of sheltering in Irving Park could change. The staff report which is to discuss and make recommendations on selection of sites for sheltering may recommend that sheltering in Irving Park be prohibited. (Note: the City staff report on the implications of bylaw changes may be completed before the February edition of the Beacon is distributed.)
A second way is through direct political action on the part of James Bay residents. Residents could demand that their concerns be given the same consideration as those of other residents of Victoria.
It is up to residents of James Bay, to you, to decide the future direction of your community.
Please understand that these are my views, and not the view shared by some, or perhaps any other member, of Council. Further, there are some residents in James Bay who support the entrenched sheltering in James Bay.
Marg Gardiner, Victoria Councillor and James Bay resident