This shelter could be seen from the boardwalk pathway in Polson Park June 7, 2017.
(CHARLOTTE HELSTON / iNFOnews.ca)
June 26, 2017 - 5:19 PM
VERNON - Vernon City Council has overhauled an earlier decision not to impose time restrictions for camping in public parks when local shelters are full.
Council voted today, June 26, in a split 5-2 vote to only allow camping between 9 p.m. and 9 a.m. That means individuals will have to take down temporary camping structures during the day time.
In an earlier decision, council voted not to impose any restrictions on the hours people could camp, so long as local shelters were at capacity.
Council debated the issue of time limits at length during Monday’s heated council meeting. The amendments to the Parks and Public Spaces bylaw are intended to bring the city into compliance with the current case law around sheltering in public parks.
According to Clint Kanester, manager of protective services, there are roughly 39 people camped in various locations within Vernon, the majority of them in Polson Park.
Council also considered a bylaw amendment that would ban the use of shopping carts, but that was voted down by a majority of council.
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News from © iNFOnews, 2017