A presentation Monday representing concerned citizens of Grand Forks led to much discussion in council chambers. A petition against the 2nd Street BC Housing project was presented with just over 1000 signatures. There are just under 650 Grand Forks signatures and 330 Area-D signatures, although addresses are not verified.
Councillor Christine Thompson addresses a common concern:
“I don’t think there’s anybody sitting at this table that’s excited about the 2nd Street location, and we’ve made that abundantly clear to BC Housing, we did propose a land swap, they’re not interested.”
Another concern was regarding the possibly of a wet facility as opposed to an abstinence approach. Some of Councillor Neil Krog’s concerns include operational costs and a lack of adequate services. Other areas of concern involve vagueness around the project when being rolled out, and a potentially increased homeless population if residents are kicked out.
Manager of Development and Engineering Services Delores Sheets says there isn’t much The City can do:
“Not much really, I mean if it fits the zoning and if they meet all the requirements in the bylaws, if it was a private developer and you tried to stop it you’d probably end up in court. So it’s like Councillor Thompson pointed out, we are the children of the province and the province does not have to consult with us, they actually can do pretty much anything they chose to do.”
Mayor Brian Taylor says a lack of consultation leaves a community feeling angry and not listened to:
“We’re treading on ice here because clearly BC Housing has a mandate to put these in and clearly they do not consult, not in the traditional sense that you have in your mind about consultation, they consult when it’s already there, ‘how do you feel about it now’ kind of thing.”
Mayor Taylor adds we have some power to make this run properly, and we need to use the influence we have. Although listed further down the agenda, two draft resolutions were briefly addressed that are being prepared for the Association of Kootenay Boundary Local Governments, and Union of BC Municipalities conventions. Councillor Chris Moslin’s resolution aims to address the issue surrounding a lack of consultation. Councillor Thompson is preparing one that requests funding for more detox and rehabilitation centres throughout the province.