It’s understandable why smaller cities and towns would not want campers to have unlimited access to camp in their local parks or municipal facilities, but wouldn’t it be nice if they allowed limited time camping for special events, like sporting events, tournaments or street fairs?
It seems that the City Council of Fort St. John, British Columbia, Canada, thinks it’s a good idea also and have asked the Fort St. John Tourism Board whether or not to allow overnight camping at city parks and facilities during special events, reports energeticcity.ca.
In a report that went before Council at Monday’s meeting, Pool Manager Karin Carlson recommended including the option of overnight camping at recreation facilities as part of the permitting process for special events on municipal property.
Camping is currently not permitted in city parks, and Carlson was recommending that city staff be able to grant approval for overnight camping during special events on a case-by-case basis.
Communications Coordinator Ryan Harvey explained that the city has received numerous requests over the years to allow camping in close proximity to sporting events, something that is currently permitted at the ball diamonds.
Overnight camping is also permitted at parks in Dawson Creek during special events, though unlike in Carlson’s proposal, approval must be given by Council.
City Manager Dianne Hunter supported the recommendation, though did include in her comments that Council may wish to refer this report to the Tourism Board for input and comment, which is what Council decided to do in the end.
