With real estate prices in Squamish up 21 per cent in the past 12 months, some people can no longer afford housing at all or are taking to the bushes for shelter.
The average home price here has risen to $557,800, according to a Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver report this month. Townhouse prices have risen 26 per cent, detached homes 21 per cent and apartments 19 per cent in the past year.
The pace of housing price increases is quickening; in the past three months alone, prices have spiked 8.7 per cent. As rental prices are rising rapidly to match, social media are rife with complaints against landlords. Even working people are having trouble paying bills.
The best deal is simply to set up camp and live rent-free. Squamish has always had its share of free campers – people who set up campers or tents on any land or parking lot where they hope people will turn a blind eye for a night, a month or indefinitely. With the warmer weather and housing crisis, the number of free campers appears to be growing.
On Saturday, a family including a five-year-old child came across a few campers having sex in Valleycliffe by the Stawamus River. On Sunday in Paradise Valley, a hiker discovered people living in the woods – and a campfire that had been abandoned and left burning in an arid forest. And downtown, camper vans simply pulled into parking lots or along the quieter streets and are staying, seemingly permanently.
People who live nearby have to deal with what some campers leave behind, which includes garbage, campfires, human feces, toilet paper and condoms.
The District of Squamish doesn’t permit camping on district or private property unless the property is zoned for the purpose, a spokesperson said. Officials have no control over Crown land but can enforce bylaws for open fires, littering, wildlife attractants and noise. The spokesperson said bylaw officers “attend many campsites in order to enforce bylaws, in response to complaints received from the public.”
While most people have some sympathy for the homeless and for young rock climbers who are living their dream in Squamish, the free-camping situation is likely to get worse. If we don’t want to deal with the garbage and feces, our best option is to report the situation before it gets out of hand. As a society, we should be looking at offering more low-cost campsites in areas that can be cleaned and patrolled for safety.
The problem won’t go away without intervention.
