Kingston City Council in no rush to establish a sanctioned homeless encampment

A motion to develop a framework on an encampment was deferred to the Arts, Recreation, and Community Policy committee in 2027.

Kingston City Council has deferred a motion that would look into establishing sanctioned tent encampments in the city.

The motion, moved by Councillor Conny Glenn, would have directed staff to develop what she described as a humanitarian infrastructure framework.

She says there would be a report coming back to Council that goes over the legalities and ramifications of putting such an encampment in Kingston.

Glenn's motion would have the staff brought back to Council within the first quarter of 2027. But it was instead referred to the City's Arts, Recreation, and Community Policies Committee for further public consultation.

That would include police, fire, paramedics, agency groups, and those who are currently unhoused. The report would then be brought to Council sometime in the second quarter of 2027.

Councillor Greg Ridge, who was one of 11 who voted to defer (Glenn and Councillor Jeff McLaren both opposed the deferral), says the complexity of having such an encampment would require more time for engagement.

 
Ridge noted during Tuesday's meeting that the previous Council in 2022 had a similar motion to look into establishing an encampment at Belle Park.

The criteria that was established then was there would be no more than 40 spaces per site at a cost of $72,500 ($80,460 in 2026 dollars), that Ridge says would have meant building more than one encampment.

The 2022 report also indicated that there would have to be on-site security, operators, and garbage collection that would put the cost of maintenance somehwere between $3-4 million per year.

But Glenn argues the city is already spending that amount just trying to catch up.

Glenn says she was disappointed to see her motion be deferred to the Arts, Recreation, and Community Policy Committee. She says having something in place sooner would have allowed them to get a grasp of the homeless situation.   

Story by Ken Hashizume