Kelowna’s Leon Avenue tent city is on the move after living conditions were deemed “too hazardous” following inspections by the Kelowna Fire Department.
The city said it has selected two parks for people experiencing homelessness to set up temporary overnight shelter between 7 p.m. and 9 a.m.
A section at the base of Knox Mountain Park near Poplar Point Road (565 Poplar Point Road) and a park off Recreation Avenue (551 Recreation Avenue) will be established for people to sleep safely at night and will include washrooms, garbage disposal, sharps disposal, bottled water and daytime storage.
“Our primary concern with the current use of tents for overnight sheltering on Leon is safety-related,” said Kelowna fire chief Travis Whiting. “Specifically, the close grouping of the tents due to the rapid and surprising growth of people sheltering outside and highly combustible materials, and the observed use of unsafe heaters creating fire or carbon monoxide risk to the residents.”
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B.C. law requires that in times of insufficient shelter and housing space for those experiencing homelessness, municipalities may not prohibit all its parks and public spaces from being used for temporary overnight shelter. Municipalities can, however, designate which parks are used as such.
“Overnight sheltering in public spaces is not the long-term solution,” said community safety director Darren Caul. “Through the Journey Home Strategy, the city will continue to advocate for the provincial government and community groups to provide additional supportive and scattered housing to eliminate the need for people to shelter outdoors.”
“The properties were selected based on a number of factors that considered the current use, amenities and programming at the site, the accessibility of the site not only for the people sheltering there, but also for emergency services, and the distance to services in the core of the city,” said Caul.
A City of Kelowna news release stated it recognized the response to the rapid growth of those requiring outdoor shelter is not ideal for anyone. “However, it was determined the sites best balanced the rights of the people sheltering outside with people impacted in neighbouring areas and the broader community.”
Two security personnel will monitor the sites daily between 6 p.m. and 10 a.m. and there will be an increased presence of both bylaw officers and RCMP officers.
Residents wanting more information about the overnight shelters can visit kelowna.ca/homelessness or call 250-862-0440.
Meanwhile, award-winning Kelowna filmmaker, Carey Missler, posted a video of his drive down the street using a camera mounted to the top of his car. Since Missler posted the video last Wednesday, it has received over 32,000 views. Missler did not provide any context to the clip in the post, just leaving it with a single “?”.
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