City of Powell River has been offered a temporary supportive housing structure from BC Housing.
In a closed meeting held March 3, council decided it did not support placement of the offered 40-sleeping-unit temporary supportive housing structure in the city as proposed, however.
Mayor Dave Formosa said council supports in principle locating a building in the city for use under BC Housing’s supportive housing program, but there were some issues.
A memorandum from director of planning services Jason Gow, brought forward in the open city council meeting on March 3, stipulated five modifications for the temporary supportive housing structure before it could be brought to the community. These included significant improvements to the cladding and overall visual appearance of the building to satisfy development permit area guidelines.
The improvements also included provision of an indoor gathering space, improved kitchen facilities and an interior refresh. There was also a stipulation for fencing in outdoor facilities with controlled access for residents and staff and security, as required. The city also wants to reconfigure the structure to accommodate two separated housing wings, a main entrance vestibule and a wider, wheelchair-accessible central hallway.
The memorandum stated that council looks forward to working with BC Housing to address the city’s needs.
Formosa said Powell River was awarded a strengthening community services grant by the Union of British Columbia Municipalities in 2021.
“This grant involves conducting public engagement to reduce stigma and community concerns as it relates to homelessness,” said Formosa. “The grant also funds additional staff time and training through November 2022 to support government and nonprofits in working with people who have lost housing. Staff are currently designing the public engagement program.”
Formosa said there will be community consultation with the public about concerns, stigma and issues as it relates to homelessness.
“We want to have some public consultation and we’ve asked the housing people if they are happy with this opportunity to get this 2016 facility here, we need to see it stepped up a fair amount because it could very well be here for up to five years,” said Formosa. “We don’t want to look at a naval barracks. We want to look at something nice.”
He said there is precedent in town for upgrading modular structures. The coast guard facility in the south harbour was going to be installed in a bought form, he added. The planning department recommended to council not to accept that building, although the city wanted so badly for the coast guard to be there, according to the mayor.
“We were a little nervous but we asked for an update to the façade because we spent a lot of money upgrading our waterfront,” said Formosa. “We didn’t want to have something to degrade our community. We are using the same tack here. We are proud and we want to make sure this facility will not be an eyesore to our residents.”
Planning report
In Gow’s report, it stated that city staff became aware that the subject structure is currently located in Burnaby and that it could be available to relocate to Powell River as soon as late summer 2022. Gow stated that the city recognizes a need for a second supportive housing building in the community.
“Approximately 100 individuals in qathet region are either homeless or at risk of homelessness,” stated Gow. “As such, there is a need for more housing overall, for deeply affordable housing, and for housing with wraparound supports for people who use substances.
“There are no plans for a second permanent supportive housing building in Powell River. This means the prefabricated dormitory could easily become permanent. As a result, staff recommend that council ask BC Housing to adjust the layout and design of the building, improve cladding, build attractive fencing and landscaping, and provide for an indoor gathering space.”
When asked by the Peak where the structure might be located, Formosa said no potential location has been identified.
“In my view, we don’t have a location,” said Formosa. “We don’t even have a unit. We were offered a unit and that particular unit is not to the standard that the planning department wants to accept.
“If the housing authority actually agrees with what we are suggesting, the portion of work to do that is right now; a consultation process is being created. We are going to be talking to the public before we decide those types of things for the next building.”
The modular structure in Burnaby is going to be replaced.
“It was put there new, I understand, and it’s come to a time where they are going to start building a replacement structure,” said Formosa. “They offered it to us and we were quite happy at first until staff had a look and they found deficiencies. Council also had some concerns about more money required after learning about these facilities.
“We’re learning we need more funds if we are to be expected as a city to deal with these types of issues ourselves. So we are asking for help with funding for things like security.”
