Maintaining by-law compliance during cold weather

• By-law enforcement is a necessary daily activity to make sure sidewalks, fire department building connections, and emergency exits are safe and accessible, even during cold weather events. It also ensures the whole community has access to parks during the day. 
• Periods of extreme weather present serious health, fire, and life safety issues for those sheltering outdoors.
• Parks and City staff are focused on encouraging people to come inside. They are dedicated to establishing connections with those sheltering outdoors, and work with partners to encourage them to access shelter and supports.
• We acknowledge the importance of compassion and empathy in our approach, recognizing the humanity of those experiencing homelessness.

During periods of extreme cold temperatures or severe rain or snowfall, we:

• Focus our efforts on encouraging people to come inside and stay warm and dry:
  • Those sheltering outside may visit any public library branch, recreation centre, community centre or civic building during operating hours – some of these locations may have extended hours during these times.
  • There are other social service drop-in centres across the community run by non-profit providers that can be accessed.
  • City and Parks staff carry the warming centre and winter shelter information sheet to share the most up-to-date information and connect people to our homelessness services outreach team, if requested.
  • Our homelessness services outreach team works with individuals sheltering outdoors across Vancouver, connecting them with supports, shelter, and housing when available.
  • We create more indoor spaces for people to stay warm overnight as part of our winter response.
• We may briefly pause by-law compliance efforts if the weather restricts crews and rangers from safely doing their work.
• We may limit impoundment unless it is an immediate safety concern.

We enforce our Street and Traffic By-laws daily to make sure streets, sidewalks, and adjacent buildings are safe and accessible.

• An accumulation of materials by buildings poses a significant fire risk associated with flammable materials, blocked exits, and fire department connections.
• During extreme cold, we must maintain safe access to sidewalks for pedestrians and for crews to conduct snow-clearing activities.

The Park Board aims to provide a balanced approach to managing the use of limited park space across Vancouver, particularly in underserved communities.

• The Parks Control By-law allows individuals without housing to set up temporary shelters in parks from dusk to dawn.
• Temporary structures must be removed at dawn to make parks available to support the health and well-being of the whole community during the day.

We strive for a thoughtful approach to safely secure people’s belongings while maintaining by-law compliance. 

• Our rangers and engineering crews are also prepared to remove non-essential items and store essential items for people sheltering outdoors.
• Individuals can access their stored belongings within 30 days by phoning 3-1-1. 
• We dispose of items that are damaged, soiled, or contain drug paraphernalia because they cannot be safely handled or stored.
• We have partnered with BC Housing to create storage at the corner of Main and East Hastings where individuals without housing can store valued items.

• During extreme weather events, we may extend hours in our community centres, such as Carnegie Community Centre, to offer extra support to the community.
• While we continue to work with senior government to bring on new housing, these indoor options are safer and warmer than sleeping outdoors, especially as the temperature drops.
• Recognizing that demand is greater than available housing and people are living in unsafe conditions on the street, shelter space is an important interim solution for people to come inside and stay safe and warm.

• We are working hard to provide homes for our residents sheltering outdoors. 
• Our homeless services outreach team helps residents at the storefront office Monday to Friday, during regular office hours. They provide additional street outreach to people experiencing homelessness during late-night shifts.
• We have made significant investments to support people experiencing homelessness, more than any other municipality in the region. 

• While Vancouver has only 25% of the region’s overall population, we have:

  • More than 75% of the region’s operating shelter spaces
  • More than 77% of the region’s supportive housing units
  • 50% of the region’s social housing
  • For shelters outside of Vancouver, visit BC 211 External website, opens in new tab
• More than $600 million in our current four-year capital plan is focused on creating new and preserving existing affordable housing. 
• Between 2018 and 2023 we committed to over 30 sites to create 750 supportive housing units and approximately 2,500 social housing units.
• Between 2000 and 2024, we created over 400 new shelter spaces. This work continues.