It’s not the summertime, but weather is hot

Vancouver residents hoping to hone their downward dogs and warrior poses among fellow yogis have run afoul of city regulations at a green space known locally as Dude Chilling Park.

The city’s park board has hamstrung free yoga classes organized twice daily throughout the summer by the Dude Chilling Park Yoga Collective, at least for now.

Solomon Montijo, who founded the collective about five years ago, said Friday he was frustrated after city officials warned him the week before that he and other instructors would be fined if they were caught teaching in what is officially known as Guelph Park.

“We have been operating in a legal grey area with the city for the past years and have now been informed that we are not going to be allowed to offer classes as we have been at the park,” Montijo said in a Facebook post.

“It is very sad to all of us and we will miss practising with you!”

A non-profit group must pay $15 per hour for a private recreation permit, which for the yoga collective would amount to about $200 a week and $3,600 from May to September.

Montijo said the group, which hosts classes by donation, doesn’t have the money to afford a permit, so he has to cancel the program indefinitely.

“We’re looking for someone to work for us as a fundraiser. Once that’s settled up, then we can apply for permits,” he said in a private Facebook message.

The park board said it was approached by someone with questions about the classes, otherwise it wouldn’t have known about them.

Board chair Michael Wiebe said he wasn’t aware of the details of the complaint, but it’s not uncommon for people to notify the board when there are disputes over using park space.

He said permits are required to be fair and keep groups organized so space is guaranteed for everyone.

Small groups taking part in the occasional sports game don’t need permits, but when the gathering becomes large and scheduled regularly like a league, a permit is necessary.

Wiebe said the permitting process isn’t intended to stop the class, especially over financial reasons.

“We’ve told the organizer that he can work with our staff on looking at ways if it’s not financially feasible for his group to find different payment structures that will work,” he said.

A number of businesses have also contacted Wiebe, he said, offering to offset the financial costs.

A spokeswoman said the park board works with 315 organizations every year that purchase permits, including six yoga organizations.

The $15 hourly rate covers liability and goes toward maintaining the park system, which includes cutting the grass and keeping washrooms open, she said.