Regina removes fences at city hall and vows no more homeless encampments there

The City of Regina has removed the fencing and "no trespassing" signs that blocked off the green space in front of city hall for the past two months, but says it will actively make sure no more encampments are established in the space.

City manager Niki Anderson confirmed the decision during a news conference on Thursday.

"The operational plan really is that we will enforce the bylaws. So what we're saying is we expect voluntary compliance, and then really the operational plan would be to make sure that people are aware of the bylaw and that they're complying," she said.

Anderson confirmed that security will remain at city hall and that the city will reallocate its resources to ensure bylaw officers are available 24 hours a day.

Anderson announced the decision to dismantle the fences on Wednesday afternoon, saying city work crews would begin removing the fencing Thursday morning.

"The green spaces on the city hall courtyard are safe and clean and they are now open to the public," Anderson said Thursday.

She confirmed that that the cost of the fencing was $2,300 a month for a total of $4,600 over two months. 

The fencing was put up on July 28 after officers with the Regina Police Service cleared out a homeless encampment at city hall. The encampment — which at various times housed between 30 and 76 people — was established in mid June.

Regina Fire Chief Layne Jackson made the decision to clear the camp after a fire at the site. Jackson invoked Saskatchewan's Fire Safety Act after deciding that fires posed an "imminent risk" to people at the encampment.

City officials have provided a variety of explanations for the fencing over the past two months.

Anderson said it would remain in place until repairs to the green space could be completed. She also said the fencing was required due to safety concerns.

Mayor Sandra Masters has, at various points over the past two months, said the grass was "polluted" or "essentially a biohazard" as a result of the encampment. Anderson would later clarify that the city hall lawn had no biohazards, but said on Thursday that there were needles, blood and feces found in the space.

Officials had initially estimated that the cost for repairs and cleanup to the area would be approximately $60,000.

With the city's parks budget tapped out for the year, repairs would have to wait until next year, Anderson said, and as a result the fencing would be necessary in order to preserve the area and allow the grass to heal.

Anderson said the recovery of city hall's green space has "significantly reduced the future cost of landscape repair." She said the city won't know for sure how much was saved until spring, but that she expects significant efforts will no longer be required.