Park Board commissioners call for special meeting to address ‘deteriorating conditions’ at Oppenheimer
Posted September 25, 2019 5:38 am.
Last Updated September 25, 2019 10:03 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) -The dispute over what to do with Oppenheimer Park appears to be coming to a head, after a recent string of shootings and a jump in crime around that area.
The Vancouver Park Board is set to have a special meeting on Thursday to talk about the homeless camp, amid growing pressure to address concerns around the park.
Two NPA park board commissioners — John Coupar and Tricia Barker — called for the special meeting, which they hope senior city staff will attend to talk about the cost of the encampment, as well as provide updated housing options available for campers.
“Everything at Oppenheimer Park is increasing and escalating. The violence there is getting worse and worse and the most that we can do as Park Board commissioners is continue to highlight this and get the other commissioners to listen to other reports,” Barker tells NEWS 1130.
The Park Board has been facing mounting pressure to get an injunction to clear the camp at Oppenheimer Park or hand over jurisdiction of the park to the city. Barker says she and Couper are the only Park Board commissioners in favour getting an injunction.
Read more: Cross-party coalition of councillors urges city to clear Oppenheimer Park
“We’ve invited everyone to come and give us another report on what’s happening down there and hopefully that will persuade the other commissioners to take another look at this and hopefullly we can get a vote happening for an injunction,” adds Barker.
The Vancouver police chief and fire chief are also being invited to the meeting to address their concerns about crime, health, and safety issues at Oppenheimer Park. The special meeting is being called under Section 495 of the Vancouver Charter.
Last week, the Vancouver Police Department sounded the alarm — again — over what it’s described as a “significant spike in crime and street disorder stemming out of Oppenheimer Park” and earlier this week there were three shootings in less than 15 hours near the park.
“I know that we have to be compassionate to the homeless situation in this city but this is now not just a homeless situation,” says Barker. “This is a violent crime situation and it’s just getting worse and worse by the day.”
Read more: Oppenheimer Park fix “squarely in the lap of the City of Vancouver”, premier says
The special meeting comes as Vancouver city councillors band together to ask the Park Board to decamp the park. Councillor Sarah Kirby-Yung has said a motion will be brought forward next week at city council.
“We do think the park needs to be decamped,” she said. “It’s not a tenable and sustainable solution to have people still camping out. The weather’s getting colder. We’re seeing a lot of violence and associated safety issues in the area.”
She is one of four councillors – along with Lisa Dominato, Michael Wiebe and Pete Fry – who drafted what she described as a collaborative, cross-partisan motion to move forward with clearing the park of campers.
“This is one of those situations where you’ve got a serious issue facing your city, and it’s not about politics. It’s about people,” Kirby-Yung said.
