Three opposition BC Conservative MLAs from Richmond and members of Keep Richmond Safe are calling for more consultation and “transparency” on a supportive housing project in Bridgeport that was re-announced on Thursday.
Newly elected MLA for Richmond-Queensborough, Steve Kooner, said more “transparency” and consultation with the neighbourhood is needed on the 90-unit project proposed at the corner of Cambie and Sexsmith roads.
The province pressed pause on this project in late August after significant neighbourhood opposition. This was seven weeks before the provincial election.
On Thursday, B.C. Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon said that after looking at five alternative sites, the province decided to pursue the project at the original site.
BC Housing is planning to consult with the neighbourhood in March, but Kooner questioned how effective it will be given the fact they've already decided which site they want to build on.
The property still needs to be rezoned by Richmond city council and this will happen after BC Housing’s consultation period, possibly in the spring, according to the city.
While Kooner said the homeless have to be taken care of, there are a lot of “underlying concerns” from neighbours.
“People are concerned about open drug use, they’re concerned about crime, they’re concerned about vandalism, those are the types of concerns they’re voicing,” Kooner said.
He encouraged the province to listen to residents, incorporate their feedback in their decision-making and "get the community onside.”
Sheldon Starrett, who’s been a vocal opponent of the project and has called for more scrutiny around the temporary modular home on Alderbridge Way, said there would be no opposition if the project were housing for low-income seniors, single mothers or “battered women.”
“The problem is the low barrier,” Starrett said, adding that, while it hasn’t been “classified” as low-barrier, the plan has been to move people from the two low-barrier temporary modular homes – Alderbridge and Aster Place - into the new building.
When pressed on where a low-barrier shelter would belong, Starrett said there’s “no easy answer” but there should be a “zero tolerance” for drug use in the new building.
While he acknowledged people do drugs in every type of home, he added that he’s not saying one type of drug use is better than another, but “you can’t control what people are doing in their homes.”
“There’s a big difference between people who are doing drugs recreationally versus transient, homeless drug users who are feeding their addiction through other ways,” Starrett said.
Starrett also called for more drug education and prevention as well as better treatment for people with substance use issues.
“The treatment we have in Canada is very bad, it’s very short,” Starrett said.
Kevin Lai, a member of Keep Richmond Safe, questioned “at what cost” to the local residents is the low-barrier housing being created. He's concerned there will be people using drugs in the playground and drug paraphernalia left for children to pick up.
However, it’s important not to lump mental health, homelessness and drug addiction together, Lai added. Those who have substance use issues should be taken to a “proper facility to treat them and care for them – secure treatment.”
“A community is not a mental hospital or an addiction treatment centre that can treat those problems,” he said.
The two modular low-barrier facilities in Richmond, Alderbridge and Aster Place, were meant to be temporary and the intention is for their residents to move into the new building at Cambie and Sexsmith, Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie told the News.
“If it doesn’t go through, what’s going to happen to those other two locations?" he asked.
As for neighbourhood concerns about low-barrier housing, Brodie said the city has done a lot of work to minimize the impact of the two facilities on the neighbourhood.
“We would want to see the highest standards (at Cambie and Sexsmith) to mitigate neighbourhood impacts and supports for residents themselves,” Brodie said.
He added he hasn’t made up his mind yet whether he’ll support rezoning the site so the project can move ahead, as there’s “a lot of road between now and decision time.”
City Coun. Kash Heed told the News he would oppose the project “on principle” as it seems the BC NDP government is playing politics with the issue.
Furthermore, he said the province didn’t consult with city council on the alternative sites that could have been used for the project.
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