Penticton adopts bylaw that allows temporary overnight sheltering in parks

The City of Penticton has adopted a new bylaw that will allow people to temporarily shelter overnight in parks but strict rules will be in place.

During a city council meeting this week, Penticton City Council adopted a new parks regulation bylaw, which provides guidelines for managing local parks, beaches and trails.

The previous bylaw dated back to 1974 and the City of Penticton said it did not align with recent developments in law, which made the bylaw “unenforceable.”

“The updated bylaw follows a line of B.C. court decisions which have found that people who do not have access to any form of indoor shelter cannot be prohibited from temporarily sheltering in public spaces,” the city said in a statement.

“As such, only people who cannot access any form of indoor shelter are allowed to temporarily shelter overnight, with provisions in place.”

Under the new bylaw, temporary overnight sheltering is only allowed between 7 pm and 9 am.

Shelters are not allowed within 15 metres of playgrounds, four metres of trails, sports fields, environmentally and culturally sensitive areas, 50 meters of any school property and 15 metres from building entrances.

Shelters must be separated by at least four metres and must not occupy an area of more than nine square metres.

The bylaw prohibits any type of overnight sheltering along Penticton’s two lake frontages, which include Okanagan Beach and Skaha Lake Beach/Park.

The city ended their statement by saying that a public information session will be held in the future and the bylaw is being forwarded to the City of Penticton’s Public Safety and Parks and Recreation advisory committees for review.