Greater Napanee to formalize encampment map review process after Lions Park discrepancy discovered

The council of the Town of Greater Napanee has directed staff to establish a review process for the town's encampment education materials.

Article content The council of the Town of Greater Napanee has directed staff to establish a formal annual review process for the town’s encampment education materials after officials discovered its public facing map incorrectly suggested that part of Lions Park could be used for camping — when in fact, under the town’s existing bylaw, the entire park falls within a protected setback from a licensed daycare. Council unanimously approved the direction at its meeting on July 14 after hearing that the discrepancy stemmed from the way the town’s original encampment protocol map was created using geographic information system (GIS) data rather than on-site measurements.

The decision does not amend the town’s Parks and Public Spaces By-law or its encampment protocol. Instead, it establishes a formal process for reviewing and updating the educational materials that accompany the bylaw and that are used by town staff and community partners to explain where encampments may and may not be permitted. Explaining the staff report, chief administrative officer Matthew Grant reminded council that the town’s protocol was created in response to court decisions recognizing that municipalities without adequate emergency shelter capacity cannot simply prohibit encampments on public property.

“The protocol allows us to stay on the right side of case law,” Grant said. He explained that because Greater Napanee does not operate an emergency shelter, individuals have a constitutional right, in some circumstances, to seek shelter on public property. The Town’s protocol establishes setback distances from sensitive areas — including playgrounds, licensed daycares, and critical infrastructure — to identify locations where encampments are not permitted while remaining consistent with those legal obligations.

Grant said the educational map used by the town and community agencies was originally created through a desktop mapping exercise using GIS data. Earlier this year, however, staff were asked to review Lions Park after concerns were raised that it should fall within the setback from a nearby licensed daycare. “Upon measurement from the fence line to the water line, the whole area would be excluded,” Grant told council, confirming that manual measurements showed the entire park is within the 85-metre setback established by the bylaw.

According to the accompanying staff report, the educational map had become “a critical piece” of the town’s outreach efforts because it provides a visual explanation of the bylaw for residents and community organizations. Staff noted that while the map suggested portions of Lions Park were outside sensitive-area setbacks, the bylaw itself has always taken precedence whenever a discrepancy exists. The report also identified other information that could eventually be incorporated into future educational materials, including utility infrastructure, pipeline easements, environmental protection lands and future wildfire risk mapping.

Staff cautioned, however, that expanding the map without consultation had already created confusion among some community partners, who mistakenly believed the town was expanding its encampment restrictions when no changes had been made to the bylaw itself. To avoid similar issues in the future, council directed staff to establish a formal annual review process. Under the proposed system, residents, councillors, and town staff will be able to request reviews of specific locations, with GIS and by-law staff conducting on-site inspections where warranted.

Rather than revising educational materials whenever a discrepancy is identified, updates would generally occur once each year — tentatively during January and February — after consultation with community partners. Staff also indicated they intend to explore a web-based mapping tool that could eventually provide more flexible public information. During council’s discussion, Coun.

Mike Schenk asked whether people staying at the Lions Park encampment had already been notified of the revised interpretation. Grant said they had. “They’ve been advised that on request we did a measurement and that there was an error in that mapping, and that it is within the sensitive use area,” he said.

“They were advised that at some point they would likely be required to move, and that we were having this conversation with council tonight.” Mayor Terry Richardson supported limiting updates to the educational materials to once each year, noting that frequent revisions could create unnecessary confusion. “The more we tweak this thing, the more we change this thing, the more we’re going to get confused on it,” Richardson said, agreeing that January and February would be the most appropriate time to complete a comprehensive annual review.

Less than 24 hours after council discussed the report, the encampment at Lions Park had been cleared, and town workers and equipment were cleaning the site. Kingstonist has asked the Town whether the cleanup was directly related to the mapping review and Council’s discussion, when the decision to remove the encampment was made, and what supports were offered to those staying at the site. A response had not been received by publication time.

Michelle Dorey Forestell is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter with the Kingstonist. The LJI is funded through the federal government.