The spokesperson for a group of Calgary RV dwellers said that they’d be open to a dedicated space for their homes, but they have to be involved in how it comes together.

The idea of the City of Calgary looking at sites to accommodate RVs as residences is being put forward by Ward 10 Coun. Andre Chabot. The Notice of Motion comes up for technical review at this week’s Executive Committee meeting.

Chabot said he wants to come up with a solution to allow those citizens struggling to find an affordable place to live the ability to stay in their RVs. His solution stems from an ongoing situation along Moraine Road NE.

“These folks that are there obviously have an issue because they can’t afford to live in a rental unit. They can’t afford to park their RV in a regular RV lot because, again, they can’t afford it,” Chabot told LWC last week.

Victor La Rock said that he supports the idea, but any solution has to involve input from those Calgarians who live in their RVs. He said he hasn’t been in contact with anyone from the City of Calgary – aside from enforcement – since November last year.

La Rock, who has lived in his RV for more than 10 years, said they’re concerned that any plan would reflect the idea of camping in an RV rather than living in one. La Rock spoke on behalf of seven others owners living in southeast Calgary.

“We’re the ones that know what living in an RV is actually like, and what it entails. So (Chabot) is trying to put up a plan with these spaces, with the bare necessities, based on his knowledge of camping in an RV, which is completely different than living in one full time,” La Rock told LWC.

“I just want to make sure that they actually consult with us so that they actually set it up correctly, between the city and with the RVs, so that it is best served for everybody.”

Services like regular black water removal (sanitary services) and space for things like a stack of wood would be needed. He, for example, has a wood stove to heat his RV and stores a supply of wood next to his motorhome.

La Rock said he’d also like to see someone on-site to manage the location, preferably someone with experience living in an RV. He said it would be similar to an apartment building or mobile home park manager.

Solution needed before site set up: La Rock

Coun. Chabot said he would like to see the site set up as a temporary solution for RV dwellers. Fellow councillor Kourtney Penner suggested that any location should have wraparound supports and be only for a confined period of time. She suggested perhaps three months.

La Rock rejected that idea, saying that most RV owners would stay their time and then be put back in the situation of finding a place to park on an ongoing basis.

“If they’re gonna give us a spot that only that we can only stay for three months, there’s no point. There’s no point in even going,” he said.

“It has to be a semi-permanent or permanent spot. If they want to make a temporary spot, and it’s for like five years, yeah, we go. But they’ve got to come up with another plan in five years, because the situation is not going to change.”

Even before a site is set up, however, La Rock said they need to find a solution to the ongoing interactions with law enforcement.

“They need to do something for us now, so that we’re not battling the parking authority, police, peace officers and everything every day while we’re waiting for this temporary or permanent solution,” he said.

La Rock knows the parking authority or city bylaw can give them a parking exemption if they want – they did it late last year, he said.

“They started off with an extension and gave us an exemption, then they gave us a one-month parking permit, and then they gave us an eviction,” he said.

La Rock said he’d love to find his way back to an apartment, something he hasn’t been able to afford on his $800 per month. This might be a step in that direction.  He said if he was offered an apartment where someone didn’t have a “boot on my neck” telling him what he can and can’t do, and it fit within his budget, he’d snap it up.

“Absolutely nobody chooses this. This isn’t a luxury lifestyle,” he said.

“Before you called, I was up on top of my roof brushing off my solar panels from the snow. Nobody wants to be out there in minus 15 degrees, on top of a roof of an RV that’s slick and slippery to brush the snow off the solar panel so that they can get a little bit of power during the winter time.”