Opposition to a proposed development is heating up in the Sapperton neighbourhood.
The Elizabeth Fry Society is seeking an amendment to the city's official community plan so it can develop 273 and 275 Sherbrooke St. It wants to construct a building that would provide space for a 37-space licensed group daycare, a multipurpose room, office for the society and 10 units of non-market housing.
Sapperton resident Trina Graydon filed a freedom of information request regarding police service calls to the Elizabeth Fry Society's building at 402 East Columbia St.
She discovered that in the five years leading up to April 2012, there were 616 calls to the site for a variety of issues including breach of parole, breach of peace, suspicious persons, causing a disturbance, suspected criminal activity and possession of cocaine.
Graydon said it's been said that the clients at the Elizabeth Fry Society office have no negative impact on the neighbourhood.
"Clearly they do - an extremely negative impact," she told city council at Monday night's meeting.
Graydon said police statistics indicate the society isn't able to control the people who are at the site now, so the situation won't improve by allowing it to expand its offerings in the neighbourhood.
"We do see now much activity is in our neighbourhood," she said. "That is what prompted us to go and request a report."
Area resident Gerald Summers told The Record there's overwhelming opposition to the plan in his neighbourhood. Many residents have erected signs in front of their homes indicating their opposition to the official community plan amendment.
"There is maybe nine houses that support this," he said. "There are over 100 houses against it."
Sommers said neighbours have various concerns about the project, depending on where they live.
"We don't want development encroaching into our little neighbourhood," he said. "It could be Chuck E. Cheese, it could be Elizabeth Fry."
According to Sommers, residents attending a recent McBride-Sapperton Residents' Association meeting voted 37 to zero against the proposal.
A staff report states that the proposal has received some positive feedback at an open house, where a number of people supported the project because of the society's good reputation, the retention of existing office employment, an improved design of the project, and the need for licensed child care and non-market housing that will help hard-to-house women live more independently in the community.
The City of New Westminster's advisory planning commission was set to consider the project on May 15 (after The Record's deadline), but several residents took their concerns to city hall on Monday night.
Ross Eichendorf expressed concern that there has been no advertising of the May 15 advisory planning commission meeting. Citing inaccuracies in staff reports and a lack of advertising about the meeting, Eichendorf said the process is becoming more and more contaminated each day.
"It is not fair, it is not open, it is not transparent," he said.
Eichendorf later told The Record that it "boggles the mind" that more information hasn't been advertised about the advisory planning commission.
When the city first considered the proposal last year, he said residents weren't aware of the advisory planning commission process and didn't attend - so the commission didn't know about residents' opposition to the proposal.
"We had huge opposition - we just didn't know the process," he said.
Eichendorf doesn't believe the proposal will have any benefits for the broader community, as he doesn't believe the daycare will be used by people living in the neighbourhood or that the building will contribute increased employment.
"No one is saying they don't do good work," he said. "But how much can one community stand?"
Area resident Catherine Cartwright expressed concern that some of the information about floor space, benefits of the project and other issues has changed in staff reports. She said a large daycare facility is imposed for the nearby Brewery District development and doubts the daycare being proposed by the Elizabeth Fry Society will materialize.
Voicing support for the project was New Westminster resident Pam Flegel, who told council that she strongly supports the proposal and believes it will help address the needs of a "very vulnerable" community. She said the community should try to be part of the solution, not part of the problem.
Beverly Grieve, the city's manager of planning, said the city must notify residents living within a certain distance of the site about advisory planning commission meetings and has fulfilled that request.
She said there's no requirement to advertise the meeting, noting it is a much different process than a public hearing.
Grieve said the "key report" to be considered by city council is the one that will be available for the public hearing.
Mayor Wayne Wright assured community members that the city is following the process and "everyone will be heard" as the process unfolds. Coun. Betty McIntosh said public hearings can be a difficult process for community members, with some people believing that decisions are made beforehand.
"We have not made a decision until we sit down at the public hearing," she said, "but it doesn't appear that way."
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