Prince George city council voted unanimously at its Wednesday, April 23 meeting to restrict vehicle traffic through Lower Patricia Boulevard as it goes through the homeless encampment known as Moccasin Flats through the installation of gates at either end.
Staff asked for the installation of the gates, which they said could be unlocked by city staff or emergency services.
Introducing the item, director of administrative services Eric Depenau said the city’s application to the Supreme Court of British Columbia is still pending and there are no updates on the status of the case.
However, he said, the community will be given an update when more information is available.
He said the city is looking to install the barriers through powers it has under the province’s community charter.
The move, he said, is meant to help make remediation matters at the site easier and reduce fire risk but would not prevent current residents from seeking shelter here. On that last point, he said that would allow the city to meet the terms of the previous 2021 court ruling denying its request to remove the encampments.
A report written by staff noted that several fires have occurred in recreational vehicles at the site.
“These structures are not intended for full-time occupation and do not appear to have been contemplated for in the decision rendered by the Honourable Chief Justice Hinkson related to this site,” the report said, referring to the supreme court case. “A volume of call outs have been received by the Prince George Fire Rescue Services in response to these vehicles since 2021.”
Coun. Brian Skakun said he knows they can only say so much as the case is before the court, but he asked whether new people who arrive at the site would be offered spaces at the Third Avenue transitional housing facility.
Depenau said that is being handled by BC Housing, adding that since the original court ruling, hundreds of additional housing units have been built in Prince George which also informed the city’s application last year to seek permission to dismantle the site.
Skakun said it was unfortunate that the city couldn’t act sooner.
Coun. Garth Frizzell congratulated his colleagues for their advocacy work on the file with the Union of BC Municipalities and with Premier David Eby.
Coun. Ron Polillo said he felt the move would reduce vehicle traffic through the flats and reduce dumping on the site.
Coun. Trudy Klassen asked whether the installation of gates would impact the city’s court case and asked for more detail about
The actions being taken are in partnership with the city’s legal counsel, Depenau said, and he isn’t concerned that the installation of gates will impact the case. He said the western end of the site is almost completely open after several lengths of fencing were allowed and reiterated that the gates should only impede vehicular traffic, not pedestrians.
Should someone on the site have an item that needs to be removed with the use of a vehicle, he said, they can help facilitate that during staff’s twice-daily visits to the site.
To his knowledge, Depenau said there is only one vehicle left on the site.
Klassen said she was concerned about air quality at the site due to fires. She said she would support the motion.
The motion passed unanimously.
After the meeting, Depenau told The Citizen that installing the gates is a priority and will happen as soon as practical, but that staff would consult with those at the site and those who support them before carrying out the work and so there's no set timeline.
