BARRHEAD - Town of Barrhead community peace officer and parks and recreation staff will have more tools to deal with troublesome tenants at the municipality's Rotary Campground.
Councillors approved a new Parks and Facilities Bylaw in three straight readings at their July 9 meeting, amending and replacing the previous bylaw that had been in place since June 2022.
The amended bylaw includes two new clauses. The first limits a tenant's stay to 14 consecutive days a month, including any on-site camping equipment. Any equipment left on site past the two-week time limit will be removed and impounded by the municipality.
The second clause allows the municipality to restrict or evict campground users who violate any section of the bylaw for up to two years.
Chief administrative officer (CAO) Edward LeBlanc said parks and recreation staff and community peace officer Brandon Johnson suggested the additions, saying they would help alleviate some of the issues they were experiencing.
Coun. Rod Klumph asked if the amendments were being requested because the people essentially used the campground as a residence, staying upwards of six months.
"No, it is not that long," Le Blanc replied.
He added that while length of stay is part of the issue, he said, reiterated what was in the public agenda package that, so far this camping season, as in previous years, the Rotary Campground has been visited by a few patrons who "are not the town's preferred customers or target market."
Klumph asked for further clarification.
"So, these are people that visit us that are not very good campers," he asked.
LeBlanc said that while some could say that, it was more than some campers who did not fit what the municipality hoped to achieve at the facility.
"We are trying to have a family campground, and some of the activities some of our visitors engage in do not line up with those done by families," he said.
Klumph said limiting the length of stay may prevent campers from squatting at the campground for the summer; he asked if other clauses regulating behaviour, such as a noise regulation, would be helpful.
The bylaw, as written, does not include any regulations on noise, and the campground rules do not include quiet times.
"Some of the [issues] are due to noise," LeBlanc said. "But a lot of time, it is about what activities are taking place and people's disposition."
Coun. Ty Assaf was unsure if the 14-day limit was sufficient, asking if a camper could renew or apply for additional time.
"Because we do get quite a few people who bring their mobile homes and campers, and they pretty much stay the whole summer," he said.
The bylaw allows for an extension to the 14-day monthly limit with the written permission of the CAO.
LeBlanc noted that provincial campgrounds have the same 14-day limit.
Coun. Don Smith supported the limit, saying the campground was never intended for long-term accommodation.
"That is not the idea of the campground," he said. "We want to have a rotation of people coming and going."
Coun. Dave Sawatzky also supported the additions to the bylaw.
"If we are getting campers that are less desirable, we need to have the ability to manage that," he said. "These are visitors to our community, and we want them to feel safe in our campground. If that becomes an issue, that is a black eye for our community."
Smith asked if the town had anyone managing the campground, saying historically, people from the Blue Heron Support Services Association managed the site.
LeBlanc replied that the town had "moved away from that" several years ago.
"Ideally, it would be nice to have a manager or someone at the gate, but our parks and recreation visits the campground regularly, if not daily, and if there is an issue, then our community peace officer (CPO) becomes involved," he said, adding it was at the suggestion of the town's CPO that the municipality added the two additional clauses in the bylaw.
Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com
