Oppenheimer Park homeless campers get break on eviction order

Homeless campers facing eviction from Vancouver's Oppenheimer Park have been given until Monday to prepare their legal case.

But the judge expressed concerns about safety and security in the tent city on Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, and has issued a list of orders the campers must comply with in the meantime.

Those orders include requirements that all dogs must be on a leash, no open fires, and all tarps must conform to the shape of the tents by 7 p.m. PT.

The Vancouver Park Board is seeking an injunction order from B.C. Supreme Court to evict more than 100 people who have been living in the park for several months.

• Oppenheimer Park campers seek delay of eviction order

But yesterday at the hearing in Vancouver, lawyers from Pivot Legal Society representing the homeless, argued they need time to prepare a legal defence.

The city says it has offered space in homeless shelters, but many of those in the park have said they don't want to move into temporary shelters and prefer the security of the tent city.