Parents and sports organizations are asking the District of Saanich to reconsider its sheltering-in-parks policy after they say a young soccer player was followed into the bathroom at Braefoot Park by someone sheltering there.
Some parents have suggested it makes no sense to allow sheltering in parks that are used by children for sports, and that the sheltering policy as it stands is far too lenient.
“At a park like Braefoot that gets heavily used every day until 10 p.m. it makes no sense,” said Kevin Astridge, whose daughter plays there. “[Parks] with sports fields like Braefoot, Tyndall and Hampton, those kinds of places where they’re hosting kids all evening long, seven days a week, remove them from the list.”
Astridge said if Saanich won’t remove these parks from the list of approved sheltering areas, then it could at least push back the hours when sheltering is allowed to past 10 p.m., when the teams have gone, and push the camps to at least 10 metres from the pitch, rather than the existing three-metre distance.
“Three metres, that’s a ludicrous number. How did they come up with that,” he said. “But honestly a place like Braefoot, they just shouldn’t be there at all.”
Currently, the District of Saanich allows temporary overnight sheltering in 81 of its parks between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. The list is based on park size, use, natural areas and infrastructure.
Sheltering is not allowed on playing fields, and those seeking shelter are not allowed to set up camp within three metres of playgrounds, sports fields, washroom facilities, natural areas and other park infrastructure.
Jeremy Mannall-Fretwell, president of the Lakehill Soccer Association, which uses Braefoot’s athletic fields, said he understands there’s a need to allow temporary sheltering, but he wonders if the spots could be better chosen or if the rules could be tweaked.
“The biggest problem is the way the policy is constructed,” he said. “The distance that the unhoused are allowed to sleep or set up camp to a playground or a sports field is ludicrously small. The other issue is we have kids in the park until sometimes as late as 9 p.m. and we may use the field until 10 p.m.”
He said he doesn’t like the fact running a youth program now has to run up against camping in the same park.
“Our interest is in protecting the well-being of our membership. We’re park users, we’re not a social service agency. We’re an athletic service provider,” he said.
Mannall-Fretwell said he’d like Saanich to reconsider where camping is allowed.
“Maybe select the parks where there’s a lot less children’s activities,” he said. “Because there are a lot of parks without sports fields.”
He also noted the municipality has already banned sheltering near certain natural areas and habitats.
“I get it, but what’s more important here — the bushes and trees or the kids and the people,” he said. “Sometimes I think we get our priorities a little [mixed] up.”
District of Saanich staff confirmed in an email to one parent that Saanich Police attended Braefoot Park Oct. 21 to investigate concerns about two people sheltering in the park, open drug use and a man knocking on the stall of a public toilet when it was in use by a 12-year-old girl.
According to the staff member, police did not find any evidence of wrongdoing, and the two people sheltering in the park packed up and left Oct. 22.
Saanich Police could not provide any more detail of that event before press time Friday.
Saanich Mayor Dean Murdock said there is always room for improvement in the district’s policies in the name of ensuring everyone is safe.
He said Saanich staff have already made changes to the washroom at Braefoot to make it more secure — an interior door was removed, encouraging anyone using it to lock the outside door when entering — and there has been some discussion about improved lighting.
Murdock said the district does not get a lot of calls complaining about sheltering in the parks, and that generally there is good compliance with the rules.
He also said staff work to ensure there is no material left behind after someone has been sheltering in the park.
“If there are things that we can do to strengthen the bylaw to create a little more distance so there isn’t a risk, we’ll take a look at that,” he said.
Some Saanich residents suggested the municipality could take a lesson from Victoria, which banned temporary sheltering in parks like Topaz, which has a number of athletic fields and venues.
Victoria’s rules are much the same as Saanich’s as they allow sheltering only between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m., though tents must be four metres from sports fields and eight metres from playgrounds.
Victoria staff also noted there are still some people who have been known to set up temporary tents in Topaz. The city also said parks with sports venues are not treated any differently than those without.
“Parks are either open to temporary overnight sheltering or they are not,” the city said in a statement.
