There won’t be any restriction on tents being erected in Centennial Park, however town staff and councillors will continue to monitor the situation next summer.
Councillors were presented with an information report at their meeting Monday night which evaluated the past summer and the effect of tents being used by day visitors.
“There haven’t been any issues from an enforcement perspective,” said Ron Lebsack, the town’s director of community services.
In his written report, Lebsack indicated the lakefront park space encompasses both the Town of Sylvan Lake’s Centennial Park and Sylvan Lake Provincial Park, since the public doesn’t distinguish between the two parks.
“In discussing this issue with provincial parks, they have no restrictions on setting up of tents in day use areas … and they do not intend to restrict tents anywhere within the provincial park.”
Earlier in the summer Councillor Dale Plante had raised a concern about the abundance of tents and opened a discussion about whether council should look at eliminating or restricting tents.
Two levels of ban on tents were discussed, a full ban or a ban only on fully enclosed tents while open faced tents would be allowed.
Lebsack’s report noted in either instance enforcement would be a challenge, particularly since there would be different rules between the provincial park and Centennial Park.
A check of six other communities, three in Alberta and three in British Columbia, found three which didn’t allow tents in parks and three had no reference to tents in their bylaws.
“I’m comfortable with where we’re at,” said Plante. He added that when he brought it up initially he was concerned about safety with tents secured by guide wires or tied to trees and about the size of tents. “I’d still like to see some monitoring.”
Mayor Sean McIntyre raised the potential for damage to the new irrigation system is somebody staked a tent into one of the lines.
Lebsack’s report was accepted for information and a letter will be forwarded to provincial parks representatives outlining the town’s concerns.