As concerned residents of Squamish, BC, we are deeply disturbed about the growth of a tent city behind the Squamish Helping Hands facility "Under One Roof" and adjacent to the Squamish Estuary. There are several significant reasons that the presence of this tent encampment is untenable in our community including:

Community safety - Helping Hands Executive Director has identified the occupants of this camp as unable to be inside the Under One Roof facility because they, "don't want to follow the rules that we need to follow to keep the staff and community safe".

Effectively, Helping Hands appears to prefer that these occupants camp outdoors in a residential neighbourhood - thereby burdening residents, families and children with the safety risk that they themselves are not willing to address. Residents have also suffered verbal abuse and threatening behaviour from occupants of this tent city.

It is also well documented from other tent cities in BC and Canada, that such encampments pose a serious fire hazard to both occupants and surrounding communities; and attract criminal activity and drug dealers.

Environmental - The Squamish Estuary is recognised as an internationally significant bird habitat, and represents a key environmental reason that Howe Sound has been recognized as a UNESCO Biosphere. The estuary is home to hundreds of diverse bird and animal species, and is a protected Nature Reserve. It is an environmental crime to dump waste and litter into the estuary.

The Squamish Tent City is located on the banks of a small pond that feeds directly into the estuary's marine environment. The green zone in which the encampment is located is black bear habitat. The District of Squamish has spent thousands of dollars to date, employing staff in Hazmat suits to clean up and dispose of litter, drug paraphernalia, and other human wastes dumped in this vital marine location.

Bylaw Enforcement - The District of Squamish Camping Bylaw No. 2679 provides the District with powers to "remove or cause to be removed any tent, shelter, structure or building in a public place which is in breach of s. 3.2 of this bylaw.  The location of Under One Roof and related land adjacent to the pond subject to this encampment is identified as 'Municipal' - the legal reference for this site is 'LOT A BLOCK 23 DISTRICT LOT 486 GROUP 1 PLAN EPP81010'. Further, Helping Hands identifies this facility as "a collaboration between BC Housing, the District of Squamish, and Squamish Helping Hands Society". In other words, a public collaboration between two public entities - the District of Squamish and BC Housing - and a non-profit operator.

Working families in Squamish, property tax paying residents, and all those that expect to live in a safe community environment with their children and grandchildren, have earned the expectation that the District of Squamish will enforce its own bylaws and ensure the community's safety. Please sign this petition in support and thank you for keeping your community and environment clean and safe!!