Vancouver's park board is cracking down on free yoga classes organized daily in a patch of city green space known locally as Dude Chilling Park.
Solomon Montijo, who founded the Dude Chilling Park Yoga Collective, says he's extremely frustrated after city officials warned him that he and other instructors would be fined if they were caught teaching in the park.
Montijo says the classes, which happen twice a day, seven days a week between May and September, have been cancelled indefinitely because he doesn't have the money for a permit.
The fee for a non-profit group is 15 dollars per hour, which for the yoga collective would amount to about $200 a week and $3,600 for the summer.
Park board chair Michael Wiebe says staff are working with the group over the issue of the fee and local businesses have stepped forward to cover some of the costs so the classes can resume soon.
He says all recreation groups need to get permits so the city can organize the use of spaces, prevent conflicts and leave room for everyone else.
