Following widespread criticism, the District has made changes to a bylaw that many feared would force van lifers out of town.
The revised version of Bylaw No. 2679 was presented to District council on June 25, and it featured a greatly reduced no-camping area.
Camping, in this context, includes sleeping in one’s vehicle.
Council voted unanimously 5-0 to allow it to be considered for second and third readings. Mayor Karen Elliott and Coun. Doug Race were absent.
“It is not a perfect solution,” said Coun. Jenna Stoner. “It is a tool to get us through this year.”
As part of the motion, acting mayor Chris Pettingill asked staff to try incorporating suggestions councillors and the public voiced into the draft bylaw before it went to its next readings.
“No one’s perfectly happy about it, but it’s a compromise to make sure it works this year,” said Rufio West of the Vehicle Residents of Squamish Advocacy Group, which was recently formed to represent vanlifers in town.
Whereas the previous version of this bylaw imposed a blanket ban on camping within District boundaries, this version has drawn no-camping zones that cover the Estuary — including the Spit — and much of the Mamquam River Forest Service Road, near Valleycliffe.
Also included in the bylaw is language hinting at permits to come, though it does not spell out any details on the matter, such as who would receive them or how.
A permitting system allowing locals to live in their vans was a key ask from vanlifers.
In interviews with The Chief, West said that while the group was supportive, they want the District to keep making further improvements.
For instance, he noted the language on permitting in the bylaw was vague, but expected that these details would be hashed out in the future.
However, he added the group would feel more comfortable if council also provided some sort of written promise to accommodate vanlifers, whether it be a permit system or something else.
West also said that while the bylaw bans camping in areas frequented by those living in vehicles, it will still be possible, at least for knowledgeable locals, to find spots to park overnight.
Thomasina Pidgeon, who was responsible for an online petition that gathered about 3,700 signatures opposing the original bylaw, said that education would be key to stopping campers from engaging in bad behaviour.
She called for more signage on leave-no-trace ethics and toilets.
Robin Sherry, the founder of the proposed tree-adventure park Squamish Canyon, was the sole member of the public at the meeting who was not advocating for vanlife.
Sherry voiced concerns about how climate change has made wildfire seasons much more dangerous.
“One of those fires — just one — wrecks everything back there,” he said. “It’s a major issue, and I think that’s drastically being ignored. It just takes one incident of one camper.”
He also pointed to a wildfire that was sparked at Powerhouse Springs Road, which the fire department suspects was human-caused.
Sherry noted that the banned camping area did not extend to Powerhouse Springs Road, which he said could create a substantial fire hazard risk to surrounding residents, infrastructure and nearby land over which he has tenure.
District staff said the bylaw didn’t extend to that area because that land wasn’t owned by the municipality. Bylaw officers have no authority there, they said.
However, staff noted they could work with private property owners to prevent camping in those areas.
Councillors noted that the District should provide a clear place for campers to go.
Stoner suggested having people use the Smoke Bluffs and Adventure Centre parking lots as overnight camping areas.
There could be regulations that would make campers disperse in the morning so it could then be available for daily operating hours.
Staff said they’ve been looking into it.
