City to help clean up some private land affected by encampments
No changes being pitched so far to the protocol that allows small clusters of homeless tent on some lands
Hamilton will pay to clean up trash on some private properties near encampments — but city officials say it is too early to consider any changes to a contentious protocol governing where homeless residents can live in tents.
The city adopted the protocol, which allows small tent encampments on some public property, last August after much community debate and in the middle of an ongoing Charter challenge by several homeless residents over past encampment evictions.
City staff told councillors at a meeting Wednesday that the protocol has had some positive results — for example, reports from social service providers that the “stability” associated with allowing small encampments makes it easier to find and support homeless clients in need. They also emphasized the protocol is meant to manage, not eliminate homeless encampments, with a focus on “supportive outreach over punitive measures.”
But the city’s general manager of healthy and safe communities, Grace Mater, also acknowledged implementing the new rules is a challenge that is only growing alongside the number of tent encampments in the city — at last count 50, with an estimated 200 residents. Last August, the estimate was closer to 150 people.
“We know there are many in our community who feel we are not doing enough,” said Mater, adding that includes both residents struggling to find housing as well as home and business owners affected by nearby encampments. “We feel like everyone is unsatisfied with our response.”
The scope of the challenge was evident at a Wednesday committee meeting that variously featured a written plea from local businesses for more encampment bylaw enforcement as well as a confidential legal update on the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms challenge of encampment bylaws by a group of homeless residents.
That legal challenge was launched before council adopted the protocol that legalized at least some tent encampments on city land, subject to many location restrictions.
One of the lawyers acting for the group, Sharon Crowe, said via email that the city’s protocol is an “improvement” over past enforcement practices. But she said advocates are still concerned about the potentially confusing rules and the suitability of allowed tent sites.
She noted Canada’s federal housing advocate has called for an end to “all encampment evictions” from public land.
Councillors also received a letter from the association representing businesses in the International Village on Wednesday.
Chair Herb Wodehouse wrote that members are increasingly frustrated by accumulating trash, human waste and safety risks — like the use of propane tanks for heating or cooking — linked to downtown encampments.
The letter pointed in particular to a funeral home near Wellington Park, arguing it has lost “an overwhelming number of funeral services” as a result of a growing tent city in the small green space at the corner of Wellington and King Street East. “The loss of business is not sustainable,” he wrote.
Wodehouse urged the city to amend the protocol to remove the little park from the list of legal encampment locations — and, if possible, to speed up enforcement against illegal tent sites elsewhere in the core.
Bylaw head Dan Smith said in an interview that the city is investigating complaints about too many tents in that park, but also noted it is otherwise a “compliant location” for a small encampment.
Right now, the rules allow small clusters of up to five tents on public property, but with location restrictions including how close encampments can be to schools, sports fields, transit stops, homes and each other.
City staff said Wednesday they are struggling to keep up with the 4,000-plus questions, complaints, and requests for help that have flooded Hamilton’s outreach email and phone number since the protocol was adopted.
Bylaw has issued more than 400 trespass or other enforcement notices related to encampment protocol violations so far.
City staff said Wednesday it is too early to recommend changes to the protocol, which has not yet been in place for a year.
But councillors did endorse a suggestion Wednesday to put up cash for contracted cleanups on some private properties affected by trash or debris originating at nearby encampments on city land.
The city estimates up to 20 per cent of calls and emails it receives each week about encampments are related to “impacts to private property.”
Environmental services director Cynthia Graham said the proposed cleanup program is aimed mostly at residents who live near public parks with tent encampments and “lack the ability” to handle a cleanup themselves. Some small-business owners could also be eligible to apply for help, she said.
If council ratifies the proposal next week, the city will advertise eligibility criteria to qualify for cleanup help — which includes a visit to confirm the mess is actually linked to a tent encampment.