The City of Parksville aims to address overnight shelters being established at Memorial Plaza (NanaimoNewsNOW File Photo)

By Ian Holmes

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PARKSVILLE — While acknowledging it’s merely a band-aid solution, Parksville councillors and the mayor say it’s time to outlaw overnight sheltering at its downtown public square.

In a motion tabled by mayor Doug O’Brien at a Wednesday, July 5 council meeting, councillors asked staff to start the process of amending a bylaw to include Memorial Plaza as part of a small list of sensitive local areas where erecting temporary shelters is banned between 7 p.m. and 9 a.m.

The City of Parksville expects the existing Park and Open Spaces Bylaw will be considered at its July 17 meeting with final adoption expected shortly after.

“I get three to four phone calls every day on what’s happening there, about businesses, about people, assaults and all the rest of it. The people are fed up and they’re frustrated,” mayor O’Brien said.

The pending bylaw adjustment would add Memorial Plaza to Community Park, Springwood Park and beaches in Parksville as designated places where people can’t legally erect temporary shelters overnight.

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“It just makes it so that these people, if they chose to use it for that area they will be moved on to a different area,” O’Brien said.

Citizens, the business community, and the City of Parksville have been among those relaying numerous serious concerns about the impact overnight sheltering at Memorial Plaza has had due to vandalism to trees, light poles, and benches.

O’Brien said the goal is to try to reduce the negative impacts associated with people misusing the space.

While stating he supported the mayor’s stance, Coun. Amit Guar had reservations about the potential repercussions the pending bylaw amendment could have.

He said they need to be prepared for the inevitable next place unhoused people converge to.

“This is not the solution, this is just moving it forward away from Memorial Plaza to perhaps let’s say down the road to McMillan Arts Centre and they will probably be before the council in a couple of council meetings,” Guar said.

He stated underlying issues such as treatment and housing options are what’s really required to help mitigate various social disorder issues plaguing the community.

Coun. Sean Wood said the emails he reads from people illustrate not only the desire for a safer, more business-friendly community, but the compassion people have toward the street-entrenched.

While restricting usage of the Memorial Ave. Plaza is only a temporary fix, Wood said they have limited options at the local level.

“The City of Parksville does not have a ministry of poverty reduction, we do not have a ministry of mental health and addictions. I would urge the province, if they watch this meeting, I would urge them to bring councils solution that we can vote on because this is way out of our lane,” Coun. Wood said.

Meantime, Coun. Sylvia Martin said she would formally table a motion at the July 17 council meeting to have staff search for available land for a tiny home development for the homeless.

She made the statement after a delegation from the Oceanside Task Force on Homelessness and Island Crisis Care Society requested land in Parksville to mirror a three-year-old staffed tiny home project for the homeless in Duncan.

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ian@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @reporterholmes