By The Canadian Press

Vancouver park board tells free yoga group to get a permit if classes continue

May 28, 2017 | 10:16 AM

VANCOUVER, B.C. — Vancouver residents hoping to hone their downward dogs and warrior poses among fellow yogis have run afoul of city regulations at a green space known locally as Dude Chilling Park.

The city’s park board has hamstrung free yoga classes organized twice daily throughout the summer by the Dude Chilling Park Yoga Collective, at least for now.

Solomon Montijo, who founded the collective about five years ago, said Friday he was frustrated after city officials warned him the week before that he and other instructors would be fined if they were caught teaching in what is officially known as Guelph Park.

“We have been operating in a legal grey area with the city for the past years and have now been informed that we are not going to be allowed to offer classes as we have been at the park,” Montijo said in a Facebook post.

“It is very sad to all of us and we will miss practising with you!”

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A non-profit group must pay $15 per hour for a private recreation permit, which for the yoga collective would amount to about $200 a week and $3,600 from May to September.

Montijo said the group, which hosts classes by donation, doesn’t have the money to afford a permit so he has to cancel the program indefinitely.

“We’re looking for someone to work for us as a fundraiser. Once that’s settled up, then we can apply for permits,” he said in a private Facebook message.

The Vancouver Park Board said it was approached by someone with questions about the yoga classes, otherwise it wouldn’t have known about them.

Board chair Michael Wiebe said he wasn’t aware of the details of the complaint, but it’s not uncommon for people to notify the board when there are disputes over using park space, leading staff to look into the matter.

He said permits are required to be fair and keep groups organized so that space is guaranteed for everyone. Small groups of people taking part in the occasional sports game don’t need permits, but when the gathering becomes large and scheduled regularly like a league, a permit is necessary.

But Wiebe said the permitting process isn’t intended to stop the yoga class, especially over financial reasons.

“We’ve told the organizer that he can work with our staff on looking at ways if it’s not financially feasible for his group to find different payment structures that will work,” he said.

A number of businesses have also contacted Wiebe, he said, offering to offset the financial costs for the yoga group if it’s a barrier to the classes continuing.

Speaking on background, a spokeswoman said the park board works with 315 organizations every year that purchase permits, including six yoga organizations. The $15 hourly rate covers liability and goes toward maintaining the park system, which includes cutting the grass and keeping washrooms open, she said.

Julie Peters, who owns Ocean and Crow Yoga, said that from a business perspective, free yoga classes in the park pose a challenge for established yoga studios, especially in the summer when people prefer to be outdoors.

She said she supports how free sessions improve access to yoga, but she is also concerned about safety and had contacted the city with concerns about the group.

“I’m not sure people really know … how much training really does go into being able to teach people yoga safely, especially if they do have issues that they’re coming in with.”

Sue Horning has run Unity Yoga for 12 years and agreed that free outdoor classes undermine businesses that have high overhead costs throughout the entire year.

But Horning doesn’t see the classes as the issue.

“The greater issue is the rent on yoga spaces,” she said, adding that it seems ridiculous to put a fee on people using parks.

“I think that we just have to allow people to use public parks in any way they see fit,” she added. “We shouldn’t regulate what’s happening in a park. It’s a park because it’s a public place for people to do what they please.”