Two motions brought forward from Westview Ratepayers Society at a city council meeting regarding housing the unhoused did not carry.
At the November 21 city council meeting, councillor Jim Palm brought forward the motions, which had been proposed by Westview Ratepayers Society president Rick Craig at the November 5 committee of the whole meeting. Craig said at the committee meeting that the first motion asks council to request BC Housing to immediately fund an external, objective and empirical evaluation of the existing supportive housing complex, and further, that this evaluation should be made public and be used to assess the merits and viability of the second BC Housing supportive housing project before any decision is made by council. The second motion was for the creation of a community task force on housing the unhoused.
Palm, on the first motion, said without the information to make an informed decision regarding what is currently happening, and with the proposed second supportive housing project, there is no basis for a decision on the second facility. He said the existing facility has been in place for several years and there has not been a thorough evaluation of what is being provided.
“There are a lot of concerns out there,” said Palm. “Until we do an evaluation, we don’t know what we are facing. This is a very smart request from our ratepayers.”
Council, however, did not support the motion, with Palm and mayor Ron Woznow in favour.
On the second motion, Palm and Woznow voted in favour of the creation of a community task force on housing the unhoused, but the rest of council voted against the motion, so it was defeated.
Craig, who was in attendance during the November 21 council meeting, said during question period at the end of the meeting that he was disappointed with council’s decision.
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