Gibsons council has given first reading to the zoning and official community plan (OCP) changes for a supportive housing project at the old RCMP site on School Road, in the face of vocal opposition from neighbours who packed the public gallery during a July 16 committee meeting.
The meeting was the first time the planning and development committee, and later council, had considered the proposal from BC Housing for the 40-unit project which would be managed by RainCity Housing, which operates a similar project in Sechelt.
According to a report from the planning department the project would require the two lots formerly owned by the federal government to be consolidated and zoned for medium density residential. At the moment only the lot fronting on School Road has that zoning. The OCP would also need to be amended to match the zoning and allow extra density.
Director of planning Lesley-Anne Staats also told the committee that under the transfer agreement with the federal government the property must be occupied no later than Feb. 22, 2022 and be used for supportive housing for at least 15 years.
“If the Town breaches the agreement, or does not complete the project by February 22, 2022, the Town must purchase the property at market value… and for not less than $638,000,” her report said.
The $14 million funding promise from BC Housing has a shorter timeline, and requires the building to completed and occupied by March of 2020.
The report also outlined the public consultation on the project so far, which included community dialogues that people had to pre-register to attend. Seventy-one people went to the dialogues and 44 submitted feedback forms. Around 25 per cent of the participants supported the project, 27 per cent were opposed and 48 per cent said they were neutral or undecided.
Representatives from BC Housing and RainCity briefed the committee on various aspects of the project, including the need for supportive housing in the community, the fact priority for the units will be given to “the most vulnerable and those identifying as residents of Gibsons” and the support services that will be offered.
Their efforts to allay concerns around public safety that some neighbourhood residents have raised were met by outbursts and scoffing from the public gallery.
Some of loudest interruptions followed RainCity associate director Isaac Malmgren’s comments that experience at other sites has shown “nieghbours enjoy positive relationships with residents of supportive housing when we move into communities. There’s no evidence of increased crime rates and, actually, police calls decrease… property values don’t decrease. This is something that gets put around a lot but it’s just not true.”
Several people took advantage of the 10-minute public inquiry at the end of the committee meeting to voice their opposition.
“We’re totally opposed to this in our neighbourhood,” said resident, Dez Delaney. “We are prepared to purchase this property to indemnify the Town for the $638,000.”
Mayor Bill Beamish was also asked if council would consider deliberately breaching the agreement with the federal government and buy the land outright, an option the staff report said would create the “potential opportunity to consider a different type of social housing with new partners.”
“At this time my mind is open,” Beamish responded. “We’ll go through the process. If it goes to second reading there will be a public hearing as well and I’ll keep my mind open to all the options.”
One woman, who didn’t give her name, said her concern went beyond the project’s proximity to Gibsons Elementary. She said it would also be too close to the high school. “The most vulnerable will actually be the teenagers when drug pushers move in and stand outside that facility,” she said, adding that she’s put her house up for sale to find that it’s “worthless… because of what you’re building there.”
At the evening council meeting, where the committee recommendations were adopted and the bylaws given first reading with little or no discussion, councillor Stafford Lumley said he appreciated the frank views expressed at the committee and council meetings.
“I like people that are honest instead of making things up,” he said. “In the coming process we get to hear everything, all the information, and that’s how we have to make a decision. But if you simply don’t want it because you live two doors away and you feel uncomfortable, that’s completely acceptable to come and say that, and I like that because you’re just being honest… and honesty is better for me.”
First reading of the OCP and zoning amendments sets up two planned public information meetings on July 31, to be followed in September by consideration of second reading by council and then a public hearing. The Town’s timeline calls for a vote on whether to adopt the amendments in October.
