Tent city remains in Oppenheimer Park despite deadline to vacate

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — A tent city in Oppenheimer Park remains intact despite an order from the city setting a deadline for campers to vacate.

Police and park rangers delivered an eviction notice to residents of the park Monday, some of whom have been camping there for over a year.

An order from the General Manager of the Park Board set a deadline of 6 p.m. Wednesday for campers to dismantle their shelters and leave the park, citing a violation of a city bylaw and health and safety risks.

At the deadline, dozens of tents remained and there was little evidence of a city crackdown.

The 6 p.m. deadline has now come and gone. I’ve seen two police officers riding bikes through, but I haven’t seen any other officers or police moving in. @NEWS1130 pic.twitter.com/N7s8Wcupog

— Lauren Boothby (@laurby) August 22, 2019

“Other than the campers and supporters we haven’t really seen much in the way of police and city staff. We have seen some outreach workers walking around the camp but that’s about it,” says CityNews reporter Travis Prasad.

“We’ve seen a couple of police cars circling the camp but no police officers, no city staff in the camp itself.”

A few police officers riding bicycles were seen patrolling the area, but no other officers moved in.

The city issued a statement Wednesday saying police would not be taking action to enforce the deadline.

“VPD officers will maintain a presence at the park to keep the peace, ensure public safety, and respond to incidents as needed, but will not remove campers from the park,” it says.

The city has found places for fewer than half of the 200 campers through BC Housing since Monday.

“Approximately 75 people have accepted offers to move into safe and stable accommodation,” it says in a release. “Good quality housing options remain available, with many having been under renovation over the past few weeks. All housing units are in publicly owned and non-profit run buildings, including the SRO rooms being offered.”

Local businesses have voiced concerns about losing revenue because of the tent city, and a recent spate of violence pushed police and the city to take action.

But the campers, who have been experiencing homelessness and difficulty finding a more permanent housing situation, say they have nowhere else to go.

Earlier Wednesday, the City of Vancouver said the next step is to assess whether further action will be taken to enforce the order to vacate.

“Once the order expires at 6 pm today, the Park Board will be assessing the situation in the park and considering whether further legal action may be required.”

In 2014, about 200 tents housed people experiencing homelessness in the park. Later that year, they were all forced out by court injunction and the City of Vancouver leased a hotel to house those who were displaced.

Protests for housing

Although police didn’t move in to remove campers, they were in the area following a protest supporting the people living in the tent city.

A small group marched from Main and Hastings back to Oppenheimer Park just after the eviction deadline to protest the city’s plans to remove people from the camp.

Chanting: “homes not handcuffs,” protesters briefly stopped in front of the Vancouver Police Department on East Cordova, before circling back to the park.

The protest made its way to the park and stopped. And still no police moving in remove the tents. Looks like they’ve moved the deadline back to remove campers, for now. @NEWS1130 pic.twitter.com/pnet759smS

— Lauren Boothby (@laurby) August 22, 2019

– With files from Travis Prasad