Victoria eyes camping ban, micro-housing to deal with homeless

The City of Victoria is considering banning overnight camping in four parks and setting up its own micro-housing in order to get a handle on its homeless problem.

In 2009, the B.C. Court of Appeal ruled homeless people had the right to camp in parks if there are no shelter beds available.

Since then, so many people have set-up camp in parks when shelters are full, it's become an expensive problem.

Last year, Victoria spent more than $600,000 on police and other services to deal with the campers. The city estimates 10 percent of campers are visitors from outside the city.

Counc. Ben Isitt has proposed banning overnight sheltering in Haegert, Cridge, Kings and Arbutus parks, saying they are too small and too close to residents.

He also wants the city to considering creating its own micro-houses to deal with the problem.

"They're somewhere on the spectrum between unregulated outdoor sleeping and proper — sort of — permanent housing. So, still inferior to a proper apartment, but superior to someone having to sleep in a tent and take it down every morning at 7 o'clock in the morning."

Isitt says the aim is to have enough spaces in the micro-housing that people won't have to sleep in parks.

Speakers from Portland and Eugene, Oregon who have experience with micro-housing communities will make a public presentation on May 11.