Maple Ridge

Bylaws and Shelter Spaces in Maple Ridge

Bylaws

The City of Maple Ridge has numerous bylaws that prohibit "temporary shelter" in parks. The Parks and Recreation Facilities Regulation Bylaw No. 7085-2014, defines a temporary shelter in broad terms, to mean  "the use of structures, improvements or overhead shelter, including a tent, lean-to, tarpaulin, plastic, cardboard or other form of shelter." The bylaw thus encompasses even small forms of shelter, including blankets or sleeping bags.

Section 8.1.28 of the Bylaw bans shelters by default in all parks except with permission of the City. That section states:

No person, when in a Park or Recreation Facility, shall: Erect, build, or locate, or cause to be erected, built or located, any structure, trailer tent, shelter or other building of any kind except with the written consent of the Director, Parks and Facilities or his designate, or the Director, Recreation or his designate;

Sections 16.1 and 16.2 of the bylaw make an exception for temporary shelters at nighttime, however, these same sections ban temporary shelters at all hours in certain parks. It is unclear why those particular parks were chosen. These sections also ban all temporary shelters within certain parts of parks, such as playgrounds, sports fields, or other recreation facilities. The bylaw thus only allows overnight sheltering in very limited parts of the City:

16.1 No person shall place, secure, erect, use or maintain a temporary shelter between 9:00 am and 7:00 pm on any public or park land within the City.

16.2 Notwithstanding Section 16.1, no person shall place, secure, erect, use or maintain a temporary shelter at any time in The Civic Centre/Memorial Park, Nokai Park or Raymond Park or in, on or within: playgrounds, spray parks or pools; horticultural display areas or ornamental gardens; skateboard bowls, tennis courts or other sports courts; sports fields, stadiums or dugouts; stages or bleachers; washroom facilities, picnic shelters, or gazebos; areas of a Park that have otherwise been issued a permit pursuant to this Bylaw; recreation facilities; cemeteries; golf courses; or pathways, bridges, docks or wharves within the City.

Section 13 of the bylaw allows an enforcement officer to order someone out of the park,  or ban them from the park, if they are in violation of any of the provisions of the park bylaw, including the ones above.

13.1 Where an Enforcement Officer has reasonable grounds to believe that a person, while in a Park or Recreation Facility, is in contravention of any provision of this bylaw the Enforcement Officer may:

13.1.2 Direct the person to leave the Park or Recreation Facility; or,

13.1.3 Issue a Banning Notice as set out in Schedule A to that person.

Section 16.3 of the bylaw creates provisions allowing for the removal of unhoused residents belongings by the City, if they are sheltering in the daytime.

16.3 Temporary shelter found to be placed, secured, erected, used or maintained between the hours of 9:00 am and 7:00 pm on any public or park land within the City shall be unlawful and subject to enforcement and removal, including any possessions, wastes and other incidental materials.

Lastly, section 10 of the bylaw allows for the City to sell dispose of or sell the confiscated belongings of unhoused persons:

10.1 The Director, Parks and Facilities or his designate, or an Enforcement Officer may seize, remove and impound any Chattel located in a Park or Recreation Facility in contravention of this bylaw.

10.2 Where a Chattel is impounded that has, in the opinion of the person exercising the power set out in Section 10.1, a value of less than $100.00, that person may dispose of the Chattel in a manner deemed fit by that person.

10.3 Where a Chattel is impounded which has, in the opinion of the person exercising the power set out in Section 10.1, a value over $100.00 that person shall make reasonable attempts to notify the owner of the Chattel.

10.4 Where a Chattel is claimed by the owner, the Chattel shall be released to the owner upon:

10.4.1 the provision of proof of ownership satisfactory to the Director, Parks and Facilities or his designate; and

10.4.2 the payment of the costs of fees, costs, and expenses for the seizure, removal, impounding and storage of the Chattel as set out in Schedule B of the Maple Ridge Highway and Traffic Bylaw No. 6704-2009

10.5 After the expiration of 31 days from the date of seizure of a Chattel to which Section 10.3 applies and where no person has claimed the Chattel, the Director, Parks and Facilities or his designate, is authorized to sell the object by auction and the proceeds of the sale shall be the property of the City.

10.6 Where, in the opinion of the Director, Parks and Facilities, it is impractical to dispose of a Chattel to which section 10.3 applies by public auction, the Director, Parks and Facilities, or his designate, may dispose of the Chattel in a manner deemed fit by that person.

10.7 Where a Chattel has been disposed of pursuant to Section 10.5 where the sale of the chattel does not cover the fees, costs, and expenses for seizure, removal, impounding, storage and sale of the Chattel the City may recover those amounts from the owner of the Chattel in a court of competent jurisdiction.

Shelters

There is no shelter in Maple Ridge other than an Emergency Weather Shelter, which is run by Salvation Army, and only opens during extreme weather events. In 2022, the Salvation Army announced its intention to open a new shelter to service both Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows, but this is not expected to be complete until 2027.

A volunteer run Community Resource Hub runs from 10am to 2pm on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, and offers mobile showers, addiction referral services, and other community services.

The Encampment Eviction Process

The encampment eviction process in Maple Ridge is carried out by Community Safety Officers, or "CSO"s. The CSOs patrol the City, and if they either discover an encampment, or are notified of one, they visit that resident to notify them of the bylaws and gain voluntary compliance.

Because of the way the bylaws are structured, including the expansive definition of "temporary shelter", as well as the prohibition on sheltering within particular recreation areas of parks, CSOs frequently evict unhoused residents from parks, even where a tent is not present, and even if this is before 9am. For example, in one instance on September 22, 2022, a CSO woke up up an unhoused resident who, according to the officer's own report was "sleeping on the ground, with a blanket and a few items scatted on the ground".  That resident was asked to leave the park at 7:41am. This is not a one-time occurence.

Recently, CSOs have been referring unhoused residents to the Community Resource Hub. However, this referral is not done without first notifying the residents about the bylaws noted above.

Encampment Evictions from January 1, 2020 - July 31, 2023

The below table and map show the number and location of encampment evictions from January 1, 2020 - July 31, 2023.

The records used to create these resources can be found here.