Victoria council scraps plan to shelter homeless in parking lots

Victoria city council has shot down a proposal from the mayor to create temporary sheltering for the region’s homeless population in some parking lots.

The motion from Marianne Alto centred around property tax exemptions that are being phased out for the parking lots of some non-profits and churches.

The proposal asked staff to craft a policy that would allow those groups to keep their tax exemptions if they allowed some temporary overnight sheltering for unhoused people in their parking lots.

2:03 Victoria mayor suggests church parking lots for shelters

Councillors voted it down in a narrow 5-4 vote expressing concerns about uptake, feasibility, safety and community pushback.

Homelessness remains a critical issue in the city.

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A count last year identified more than 1,600 people experiencing homelessness throughout Greater Victoria.

Last month, the city announced plans to increase policing and work towards the end of the Pandora encampment, however, it conceded the plan was reliant on help from the province to find shelter for the people living in it.