Encampment Response Consultation Survey

Demographic Information

These questions are optional but help us understand who is participating in the survey.

How long have you lived or owned property in Greater Napanee?

Less than 1 year

1-5 years

6-10 years

More than 10 years

Which option best describes you?

I regularly visit Greater Napanee

I am a Greater Napanee business or property owner

None of these options / prefer not to say

I am a Greater Napanee resident

I work in Greater Napanee

I am a member of Greater Napanee's unhoused people

What is your experience with homelessness?

My home or business is located near an encampment

None of these options / prefer not to say

A person close to me has personal lived experience with homelessness

My line of work intersects with homelessness

I do not have direct experience with homelessness

I have personal lived experience with homelessness

Encampment Response Protocol

Under current Canadian case law, the Town cannot impose a blanket ban on all encampments in all parks, as unhoused individuals have a constitutional right to shelter themselves on public lands when no other alternative options for shelter are accessible to them. However, the Town can set reasonable limitations on where and how encampments can be established in order to promote the safety and wellbeing of people living in encampments and people using public parks.

In this section, the Town will be looking for input on which types of uses and specific locations are of greatest concern to residents from an incompatible use perspective.

Currently, we have between 10 – 20 tent sites within the urban area at any given time. The proposed encampment framework includes a maximum cluster size to avoid over-burdening any one neighborhood. What do you feel would be an appropriate maximum cluster size for encampment groups?

3 tents

4 tents

5 tents

Other (please specify)

The proposed encampment framework contemplates a number of ‘sensitive use areas’ where encampments would be prohibited either on or within a certain buffer distance around the area. Please rank the following areas in order of largest (1) to smallest (13) buffer zones you believe is required. i.e. if Schools should have the largest buffer zone, select '1' as your response.

Designated Heritage Buildings (i.e. Town Hall, Macpherson House, etc.)

Select

Sports Fields (which includes soccer pitches, baseball diamonds, sports courts, skateboard park, etc.)

Select

Schools

Select

Daycares

Select

Walking Trails

Select

Cemeteries

Select

Private Residential Property Lines

Select

Rentable Areas (which includes the Conservation Park pavilion)

Select

Public Washroom Facilities

Select

Playgrounds (which includes splash pads)

Select

Community Gardens

Select

Public Parking Lots

Select

Environmentally Sensitive Areas (i.e. shoreline susceptible to erosion)

Select

Are there other 'sensitive use areas’ where you think encampments should be prohibited either on or within a certain buffer distance around the area.

Please provide any comments as to why you have selected the order you did.

10.

Larger municipalities have had some success designating a limited number of park facilities as completely off limits to encampments. Given the small number of parks within the urban area, staff believe Greater Napanee could defensibly designate one park as a sensitive use area in its entirely. Please indicate your preference if there is an option for one park to be fully defined as a sensitive use:

11.

What factors do you believe make this the most important park to designate as a sensitive use area in its entirety?

Buffer Zone Distances

In this section, we will ask you to share what you believe would be a reasonable buffer zone to place around each of the previous sensitive use areas, understanding that the Town must leave enough areas available for the current level of encampments, and those areas must be within an accessible walking distance to core services that are provided in the urban area. For example, the Town cannot place a 200 meter buffer around every type of sensitive use as that would have the effect of restricting the entire urban area as prohibited.

The provided options and draft protocol document are operating under the assumption that areas primarily used by young children are the most important to provide large buffer zones for, and are taken from the most commonly used distances in other municipal protocols.

12.

Playgrounds (which includes splash pads)

35 meters (115 feet)

50 meters (164 feet)

85 meters (280 feet)

Other (please specify)

13.

Schools

35 meters (115 feet)

50 meters (164 feet)

85 meters (280 feet)

Other (please specify)

14.

Daycares

35 meters (115 feet)

50 meters (164 feet)

85 meters (280 feet)

Other (please specify)

15.

Sports Fields

10 meters (33 feet)

20 meters (66 feet)

30 meters (115 feet)

Other (please specify)

16.

Cemeteries

Prohibited within the boundaries of the property

Prohibited within 30 meters (99 feet) of a grave site (i.e. permissible along some fence lines)

Other (please specify)

17.

Walking Trails

5 meters (16 feet)

10 meters (33 feet)

15 meters (49 feet)

Other (please specify)

18.

Heritage Buildings

Prohibited within the boundaries of the property

Prohibited within, against, or blocking access to the building

Within 5 meters (16 feet) of the building

Within 10 meters (33 feet) of the building

Other (please specify)

19.

Environmentally Sensitive Areas

On the environmentally sensitive area

Within 5 meters (16 feet) of the boundary of the environmentally sensitive area

Within 10 meters (33 feet)

Within 15 meters (49 feet)

Other (please specify)

20.

Community Gardens

5 meters (16 feet)

10 meters (33 feet)

15 meters (49 feet)

Other (please specify)

21.

Public Washroom Facilities

22.

Rentable areas (including Conservation Park pavilion)

23.

Private Residential Property Lines

5 meters (16 feet)

10 meters (33 feet)

15 meters (49 feet)

Other (please specify)

24.

What impact would the proposed buffer zones have on you?

25.

Please provide any additional comments regarding buffer zones.

Other Encampment Response Questions

In this section, please rate your level of support or opposition to the proposed operational changes the Town could implement, which may have an impact on operational costs.

26.

Please indicate your level of support for the Town installing additional sharps collection bins within parks and other public areas.

27.

Which area(s) do you think would most benefit from having additional sharps collection bins installed?

28.

Should the Town install additional public garbage bins and portable toilets within parks and other public areas, even if there is an added cost?

29.

Which area(s) do you think would most benefit from additional waste bins or toilet facilities?

30.

If you could communicate one message to Town Council and Staff about the topic of encampments, what would it be?

31.

Is there any other feedback you would like to provide regarding the proposed encampment response?

Thank you for participating in our survey. We hope you will also engage in one or more of our other consultation activities:

Attend the community open house at the Best & Bash Arena on October 1, 2024, beginning at 6:00 pm.
Leave a comment on our engagement page at letstalkgreaternapanee.com
Email your comments or questions to encampments@greaternapanee.com

If you have additional feedback about the proposed Parks & Public Spaces By-law which is separate from the encampment response, please email your comments to the Clerk at jwalters@greaternapanee.com by October 4, 2024, so your feedback can be incorporated into the by-law review.