Time for RV dwellers to move home, East Vancouver businesses say

Businesses on a quiet street inEast Vancouver want the city to deal with what they call a dramatic increase in the number of campers and RVspermanently parked there.

Glen Drive near Terminal Avenue has in recent months become a hub for people parkingand living inside their vehicles.

It's part of a larger trend across Vancouver of people skirting expensive housing by living in vehicles.

• Car-dwellers rising: life on the curb of Canada's most expensive city

John Knapton, who owns a clothing business in the area, says the growth of vehicle dwellershas resulted in garbage, rats and safety problems.

"We findextension cords across roads that some of our retailers have tripped on," he said. "We've had to bring in pest control because ofrodents."

Knapton wants the city to find a different location for the van dwellers to park, somewhere where there are proper facilities and services for garbage.

"I'd like to see them clean it up. I'd like to see them find a place for these people," he said.

The City of Vancouver says it's aware of what's happening on this street, but it does not ticket people living inside vehicles.

The only thing it can enforce are parking regulations.

There are three-hour time limits in most of residential Vancouver, and tickets can cost $40-$100. An impound can top $200.

The city says that within the past weekit's sent members of its homeless outreach team to help connect people living out of vehicles along Glen Drive with services or even long-termhousing.

But not everyone who is living on the street wants to move anywhere else.

"Ilove it. I love it," said Kevin Royes, who has lived out of an RV for the past three years.

He says he's a formerentrepreneur and is experimenting with essentialism living with only the things he needs.

"Iget water across the street ... electricity I don't use much," he said. "Ihave a solar panel so Icharge my phone sometimes."

Ben Pearson has been living in a Chevrolet van for two years due to skyrocketing rents. He says he moves it every day to a new location.

He's not worried about being able to access the things he needs.

"Pretty much the only thing I need is showers," he said. "Community centres, friends' places that's where I get showers."

Pearson says each year he's been living in his van, the number of people doing the same thing has tripled.

"It's getting worse and worse," he said.

Officials counted people living in vehicles as part of its homeless count for the first time in 2017 registering 58 in Metro Vancouver, including 17 in Vancouver.

People like Royessaya community is starting to take shape along Glen Drive. He's had neighbours over for dinner.

He says even if he gets a bylaw ticket related toparking, it's still cheaper than paying the average monthly rent in Vancouver, which is around $1,800.

• 'Well, you gotta have a home': Inside the private lives of van dwellers

With files from Farrah Merali