Five hours. Almost two hours of deputations. No decision.
Chatham’s homeless encampment will stay at the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) property on Grand Avenue East at least until council reconvenes at their August 25 meeting.
“For the last probably two months, virtually every meeting I go to, social event, anywhere I go, that’s the topic,” said Mayor Darrin Canniff.
“Everybody has a thought on how we can fix it. And I wish I could sit here tonight and say, you know what, I’ve got the solution, we are going to fix this thing. We have a path to go there.”
Despite not choosing a location for an encampment and not voting through the bylaw, council did approve the distances encampments would be required to be from businesses, private property, recreation facilities, construction sites, and public walkways.
“It’s not just Chatham-Kent, it’s across Ontario, it’s all across Canada, this is a very difficult thing we are dealing with. So I’m glad to have everybody come out tonight to express their opinion,” said Canniff.
“This is the start of that solution, to move forward to balance the rights. And I hope over the next couple of three years we can talk about the supportive housing and those things, moving more people out of those encampments. Encampments is not a way to live. And unfortunately, that is where we are at right now. And I wish we could say we don’t have encampments tomorrow, but we need somewhere for these individuals to live.”
Council voted in favour of the following encampment location requirements, which ultimately left only one suitable location, the Thames Grove Conservation Area, from the list of four presented in a report to council.
- 100 meters away from the property line of a private residence.
- 100 meters away from any business
- 25 metres away from construction sites
- 10 metres away from a recreational path
- Tents are required to be 2 metres apart
- Bylaw enforcement officers will be tasked with enforcing encampment-related bylaws
- That administration be tasked with any further recommendations for community mitigation practices, and to do so regularly.
- That all costs related to enforcement, mitigation, and community supports related to the encampment issues be compiled and sent to local MPPs, the Minister of Health, the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, and the Premier, with a report sent to council.
- That council directs administration to close or adjust amenities consistent with the protocols outlined in this motion.
Ward 6 Councillor Marjorie Crew abstained from voting due to a conflict of interest, and Ward 1 Councillor Melissa Harrigan, and Ward 5 Councillor Aaron Hall were absent from voting.
The newly approved 100-meter requirement from property lines eliminated the PUC property, leaving council with only the Thames Grove Conservation Area in terms of size, but required an amendment to allow administration the ability to eliminate property amenities, in this case a disc golf course, without needing a vote from council.
Ward 6 Councillor Brock McGregor voiced his frustration, saying it was irresponsible to vote through the policy changes without allowing proper discourse from residents near Thames Grove.
“The very same thing that the community around the PUC feels that was done to them…we just did it to the folks at Thames Grove with no transparency and no public consultation,” said B. McGregor.
“There is a right way to do this and a wrong way to do this, and I don’t think we went about it the right way tonight.”
The Mayor, who voted in favour of council’s ability to eliminate or close amenities, asked to change his vote, which required council to vote on reconsidering the motion, which had already passed. That motion then failed 6 to 8.
“That’s the issue we are facing, I don’t want to put it anywhere. I don’t want encampments,” said Canniff.
“But I’m at a quandary here. What do we do? Do we say you can’t go anywhere…If we do that, that’s it, we are saying you can’t go anywhere in Chatham-Kent, really, legally. But they are all going to be out there somewhere illegally, somewhere they are going to be going. And that’s where we talked about exploring somewhere outside the city of Chatham. And provide all of those supports…that is something I would like to explore.”
Based on the motions passed regarding distances, administration would examine other potential properties across Chatham-Kent to present to council as possible encampment locations.
Ultimately, council agreed to move further to discussion about alternative encampment locations across all of Chatham-Kent and vote on creating an official encampment bylaw to the next meeting on August 25.
