How close should homeless camps be to homes and apartments?
The bylaw changes are part of a package of recommendations to help with homeless prevention
City staff responsible for helping people living in tents and on the streets are looking for support from council to extend services to get people through the winter months.
At the same time, they're asking councillors to change the encampment buffer zone between tent setups and residential property lines from 100 metres to 25 meters.
In a multi-page report submitted ahead of Tuesday's Strategic Priorities and Policy Committee meeting, staff said they are unable to enforce the existing setback requirements. They say inquiries spiked 33 per cent this summer, compared to the year before.
"This proximity affects the current encampment and depot program," Kevin Dickins, deputy city manager wrote. "The challenges to respond to the increased volume of inquiries is impacting [the] ability to address encampments in the community."
In June, council passed the following bylaws on where encampments can be located:
- Not within 100 metres from playgrounds, water parks, spray pads, and sports fields.
- Not within 150 metres from elementary schools and child daycares.
- Not within 100 metres of any private residential property line with a "habitable dwelling".
Dickins notes that outreach service providers worry too many people are being displaced by the residential property bylaw, forcing them further away from service. He said Watson Park in south London, which is the location of a city-run service depot, has seen tents set up too close to homes.
The city committee is also being asked to approve funding to continue running the service depots, including washrooms, food, water and outreach support, for another year until the end of 2025. The price tag is almost $2.5 million, however, it's coming from a one-time pot of money previously earmarked for homeless relief.
What's still missing is where people will sleep in London when the weather gets cold.
"As council has approved the Ark Aid proposal until the end of December 2024, this does create a potential gap in services for January through May of 2025," Dickins writes.
Ark Aid has 90 beds between its two shelter sites in east London, with council voting in June to spend $1.8 million to fund them until year's end. City staff had hoped to receive a portion of Ottawa $250 million encampment funding, which Dickins said has not materialized.
CBC News learned this week from London North MP Peter Fragiskatos that the federal government's intention was for provinces to match funds in order to help more people. He said so far, Ontario hasn't committed to matching funds.
"This is something the province's needs to be a part of," Fragiskatos said Tuesday. "It is a shared area of responsibility."
Meantime, the province responded by saying it's already increased homelessness funding to the City of London, giving it $21 million this year to spend on homelessness prevention, an increase of 40 per cent from past years.
City councillors will vote on the staff report this coming Tuesday.