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Editorial: A fair hearing for supportive housing

Gibsons has had its share of contentious public hearings in the past few years, and if the atmosphere at this week’s meetings dealing with the proposed supportive housing project on School Road is anything to go by, there will be another this fall.

Gibsons has had its share of contentious public hearings in the past few years, and if the atmosphere at this week’s meetings dealing with the proposed supportive housing project on School Road is anything to go by, there will be another this fall.

The Tuesday meetings of the planning committee and council were the first fully public discussions of the project since the March announcement that the federal government had agreed to transfer the former RCMP building to the Town for one dollar, and that BC Housing was coming forward with $14 million, plus operating funds, to establish the 40-unit development.

And most of the people in the gallery were steadfastly and vocally opposed to allowing the project to go forward.

While we might not accept all the arguments being made in opposition to the project, and reject some as outright misinformation, the issues that have been raised about the process are understandable. 

Some neighbours had already told Coast Reporter they felt the project was being presented as a “done deal.”

Up to this point the public consultations had mainly taken the form of BC Housing facilitated “community dialogues” which people had to pre-register to attend.  The results show a fairly even split between supporters of the project and those who object (25 per cent and 27 per cent respectively), with the balance (48 per cent) neutral or undecided.

A staff report noted that “no public consultation occurred prior to execution of the contribution agreement [with the federal government], with the understanding that public consultation would be required as part of the OCP/zoning amendment process.”

Other factors that may be contributing to the impression of a “done deal” are the conditions of the agreement with the federal government, which bind the Town to having the site occupied by February of 2022 and maintained as supportive housing for 15 years. 

Breaching the terms would put the Town in the position of having to pay Ottawa market value for the property – not less than $638,000.

The conditions of BC Housing’s funding call for the building to be up and occupied by March 2020.

That doesn’t seem to leave much time for fulsome public engagement, and the neighbours, and everyone else in Gibsons, are owed a respectful hearing of their concerns and a chance to voice their support.

Mayor Bill Beamish said reassuringly during this week’s proceedings that he remains open minded, including on the possibility of the Town paying market value for the land and going in another direction.

Also reassuring for those fearing a “done deal” is the history of BC Housing’s projects in Sechelt, the homeless shelter and a supportive housing development that opened earlier this year. 

The agency has shown through those projects that it is responsive to the concerns of the public and local governments.