Penticton City Council has rejected a plan that would have seen a spruce tree, fountain, and concrete surround removed from Nanaimo Square.
Staff recommended moving forward with the changes in response to ongoing public safety concerns in the area, but municipal politicians instead unanimously voted on April 1 to further investigate how to address those issues without removing the enhancements currently in place.
"This isn't going to work," Coun. Helena Konanz said of the plan that would have cost $10,000.
"Nanaimo Square is an integral part of the downtown," added Mayor Julius Bloomfield. "It's a pity to see that potentially disappear because of a small percentage of the population that creates a problem."
Julie Czeck, the city's general manager of public safety and partnerships, said there have been a total of 408 calls to bylaw and 1,318 to police in the area since 2021.
In 2024 alone, Penticton RCMP responded to the area 365 times.
"It's increasingly become an area for problematic behaviours, including overnight sheltering, public defecation, bathing in the fountain water, drug use, and loitering," Czeck said.
She added that city staff conducted a crime prevention assessment "rooted in psychology and urban planning" when developing the recommendations.
Other proposed changes the city council opted not to move forward with included repairing the paving stone areas and activating the space through the the city鈥檚 mobile vendor program.
Michael Magnusson, executive director of Penticton & Wine Country Chamber of Commerce, threw his support behind the plan on behalf of the local chamber and Downtown Penticton Business Improvement Association.
"The square used to be a space where anyone and everyone could sit," Magnusson said. "But unfortunately, it is now an area that the average resident, consumer and downtown employee avoid."
Jeffer's Fryzz 鈥� a food truck parked just west of the intersection of Main Street and Nanaimo Avenue 鈥� is considering leaving the city's downtown core because its customers don't feel safe in the area, the chamber's executive director added.
Council's rejection of removing the spruce tree and fountain came to protest the proposed changes.
An online petition opposing the plan also garnered 283 signatures, as of April 1.
"We agree both the spruce tree and fountain are beautiful," Magnusson began. "However, they have also unintentionally created the environmental conditions that compromise the safety of this space."
"We're not saying that the unhoused can't be there, we're saying we want vibrancy and purpose there," Czeck added.
City council ultimately disagreed with the proposed changes but acknowledged the need to improve safety in the area.
"I just don't agree with getting rid of such assets to our community," said Coun. Campbell Watt.
Watt later brought forward a successful motion that asked staff to look at other options to address public safety in the area and include the public safety committee in those discussions.
"I think it should go back to the drawing board and for staff to think of some different ideas," Konanz said.
