Camping will be allowed in areas of some municipal parks in North Cowichan, but campers will have to follow strict regulations.
Camping is currently unregulated in much of the municipality, but after tent cities were recently set up by the homeless on public land in Duncan and Victoria, North Cowichan decided at its meeting Wednesday to tweak its bylaws to prohibit camping in certain areas and regulate it, to the extent possible, in its parks and public lands.
The new bylaw will allow homeless people, defined as those with no fixed address and no access to public shelters, to set up a temporary shelter in municipal parks between 7 p.m. on one day and 9 a.m. on the following day.
But the campers will not be allowed fires or to set up their tents within 40 metres of a playground or sports facilities, or any area of the park that has been designated for an event.
The camps are also not allowed within 10 metres of an established trail, sidewalk or private property or anywhere near environmentally sensitive areas.
The provision that campers will not be allowed within 10 metres of private property raised concerns for some council members.
Coun. Maeve Maguire questioned whether 10 metres was enough.
Coun. Joyce Behnsen raised the same concerns and said, with North Cowichan basing much of its new bylaw on a similar one in place in the City of Duncan, it’s probably wise to consider it in relation to the municipality’s much larger size.
“It’s a fact that Duncan is a much smaller area so, with North Cowichan being much larger, further setbacks from private property may be a more practical move,” she said.
But director of corporate affairs Mark Ruttan said it will be determined during the summer months whether that setback, and other aspects of the bylaw, are sufficient.
“We’ll see if adjustments need to be made after the summer, but I would encourage council to support this bylaw now as it would give the municipality more tools to deal with camping issues over the summer,” he said.
Coun. Tom Walker said he’s willing to support the 10-metre setback from private property — for now.
“We have to be seen to be reasonable, so if we get complaints, then we can amend the bylaw,” he said.
“But I think we need to get something in place sooner rather than later. If we don’t pass this now, we only have two council meetings between now and September to get it done.”