Many Queensborough residents oppose a plan to build modular housing for homeless women near the local elementary school – but are prepared to welcome it at a different location in their community.
On Monday night, council received a report on zoning amendment and official community plan amendment bylaws that would allow a 44-unit modular housing development to be located at 838 Ewen Ave. If approved, the project would provide housing and support services for women who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.
More than a dozen Queensborough residents appeared at Monday’s meeting to urge council to reject the site for the project but to put it at another location in their neighbourhood. Residents are concerned about potential risks to children of locating the project next to a site that’s home to about 700 students at the middle and elementary schools, the community centre, a skate park, a StrongStart program, a before-and-after-school child-care program, playgrounds and a daycare.
Jagjit Sall said the Gurdwara Sahib Sukh Sagar’s congregation has always provided a safe place for many people to congregate and feeds 100 meals to homeless individuals each week. The temple’s congregation, however, is concerned about the potential impacts on children’s safety.
“I say potential because no one knows if the children’s safety is safe or not. That is what scares many of the people of Queensborough, that this project cannot guarantee that it won’t increase the risk of children’s safety,” he said. “On behalf of the congregation, it has been asked that another location be chosen, that the current location is not fit for either the children of Queensborough or for those homeless women involved as they need all the support from the community as they come in, not walking to scathing eyes in opposition, but open arms. This is a community project. It takes a community to make it work, so let’s work on an alternative location so all the stakeholders involved can benefit from it.”
While some community members have voiced support for the project on social media and at the open house, all speakers at Monday’s council meeting expressed concern about its location.
Ashifa Dhanani, who is part of a group called Queensborough Residents for Responsible Community Planning that formed in response to this proposal, said the community embraced a housing project for women and children just a few blocks away. She said the community supports the project at a different Queensborough location.
“We are in support of the project. We really feel it’s important to get 44 women off the street as soon as possible,” she said. “We feel like we can do it in Queensborough.”
Dhanani presented council with a petition signed by 2,000 Queensborough residents, which is calling on the provincial government to work with the city and stakeholders to extend the timeline for community consultation, to address potential risks related to the project and to find a location away from a site near children, because of potential exposure to drug use, drug trade and high-risk mental health behaviours.
When attending an open house about the project, Dhanani said residents were unable to get answers to various questions from groups involved in the project.
“What we are requesting is a comprehensive feedback session and a stakeholder collaboration session between residents, businesses, Elizabeth Fry, the school district, Fraser Health, police, fire services and the City of New Westminster,” she said. “We want assurances that you have identified these potential risks and identified a mitigation plan and ensured there is funding for that through the lifecycle of the project. We just want to know that we are going to be safe.”
Richmond-Queensborough MLA Jas Johal will be presenting the petition in the legislature this week on behalf of constituents who contacted him about the matter.
Several residents suggested the city hasn’t done its due diligence regarding the site selection because of a desire to get “rapid response” funding for the project from B.C. Housing.
Council gave first and second readings to the bylaws, which will be considered at a public hearing in council chambers on Tuesday, June 26. Council also directed staff to report back before the public hearing about the suitability of building the modular housing project at 200 Fenton St.
Coun. Chuck Puchmayr said he thinks there is merit to looking at another area for the project and isn’t comfortable there was a really good consultation regarding the project. He suggested council refer the issue to staff, rather than support first and second readings of the bylaws, as he thinks that the best way to ensure the project moves forward quickly.
“I do strongly believe there is an opportunity to get a complete buy-in from the community,” he said. “I would rather deal with it sooner than later – I believe referring it back does this.”
Other council members, however, supported moving forward to a public hearing as they fear the city could lose out on provincial funding.
“If we delay further at this stage, we do put the funding opportunity for the rapid response in jeopardy. I am concerned about that,” said Coun. Patrick Johnstone. “I recognize that council still has the ability to stop this project or delay this project at the public hearing step. We still have the ability to say no at that time or to refer it back to staff and ask for more work to be done at that time, but the opportunity may be lost to move forward – if the decision is to move forward – if we hit that pause button right now. We can hit that pause button at public hearing.”
A February 2018 staff report outlined a number of concerns related to the property at 200 Fenton St., including: the lack of site access, which would require an extension of Fenton Street; the location of a Metro Vancouver sewer main; and the need for “significant fill deposits and time for ground consolidation” on the site, which is located in the Fraser River flood plain.
