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Documents show mixed response to temporary modular housing across Vancouver

Almost 75 per cent of comments collected at info sessions against projects
Though the temporary modular housing project in Marpole is up and running as of February, it has gar
Though the temporary modular housing project in Marpole is up and running as of February, it has garnered vocal opposition by some residents. Photo Saša Lakić

Documents received from a freedom to information request with the City of Vancouver show that a majority of Vancouverites who gave feedback at information sessions on temporary modular housing oppose projects in their neighbourhoods. The most common concern voiced by residents was security.

Of the 565 responses collected so far by city staff, 415 were against the city’s plan to house Vancouver’s homeless in temporary mobile housing complexes. The request covered feedback sessions in Marpole, East Vancouver, the Downtown Eastside and the Olympic Village between November 2017 and January 2018. For privacy reasons, respondents’ personal information was redacted.

Not surprisingly, feedback from Marpole residents was virtually unanimous in opposing the two modular buildings on Heather Street and 59thAvenue, which opened in February. Of the 288 responses collected at the Langara golf clubhouse last November, two were neutral in sentiment and only nine showed support for the project. The rest were strictly against it.

Two issues were predominant in responses to the Marpole project: a perceived lack of consultation and transparency by the city government, and the proximity of the housing project to three schools within a block radius. As reported in the past, some residents from the area believe the housing project would house people who posed a danger to students at Sir Winston Churchill secondary, Sir Wilfrid Laurier elementary and the Ideal Mini School.

“City Hall: you cannot allow your plan just because a developer’s willing to donate the use of this land. The many residents + owners + parents in the neighbourhood have more [at] stake than the developer. They’re not consulted,” reads one comment.

“Placing this so close to a school is both dangerous and irresponsible. This was not well thought out and has severely damaged our faith in Vision Vancouver. You have lost a supporter today,” read another.

In contrast, feedback on the two locations in the Downtown Eastside, at 501 Powell St. and the 1100-block of Franklin Street, was unanimously positive, though only 28 residents responded at an information session at the Vancouver Buddhist Temple last December. The respondents, some of whom plan to apply for residency, hope for an expansion of modular housing projects in the city and the services offered there. In early March, the city announced the Powell Street project will cater exclusively to women from the area.

“In the city of Vancouver, I see this modular housing as a great opportunity to provide housing for people with mental health issues separate from those with serious addiction (I realize that at times that can be one & the same). I see people with mental health issues constantly victimized,” said one respondent.

Of the 146 feedback cards submitted for the Kaslo Street location, 75 per cent (110) were against the housing project, which is supposed to replace a community garden across from Slocan Park and the 29thAvenue SkyTrain station. The opposition raised some of the same points as in Marpole, but also sought clarification on the housing mix at the building.

“I live in the neighbourhood and would feel much more supportive of this initiative if a service [provider] such as Atira [Property Management], who has years of experience in supportive housing for women, housed women only at this location,” one respondent commented.

On March 13, the city approved the project at 4480 Kaslo St., which will feature 52 housing units under the management of Atira Property Management. Atira will also be in charge of tenanting and running the 24/7 services for residents. The non-profit provides resources for women in need, but there are no details on the eventual tenant mix. A press release by city said construction of the modular units is set to start in late March and be ready for residents in early July.

Conversely, in the Olympic Village, almost 75 per cent of resident feedback backs the proposed modular housing on West Second Avenue and Ash Street by the Canada Line station. However, respondents did raise the security issue of insufficient street lighting in the area.

“We need more lighting and safer landscaping in the wooded area south of Commodore Rd.,” one resident wrote of the overgrowth stretching along the railway close to the proposed location.

“Establish a clear commitment to improving the surrounding area,” instructed another respondent. “I am very positive about the project.”

Abi Bond, the director of affordable housing with the City of Vancouver, attributed the negative feedback by the public to a lack of understanding of the conditions around homelessness and said that establishing so-called community advisory committees is meant to dispel the concerns and fears voiced at the information sessions and in the collected feedback.

“In fact, many homeless people are likely to be victims of violence themselves,” Bond said. “They’re more likely to experience negative or discriminatory behaviour towards them.”

She said the feedback informs the makeup of the committees by including community representatives who are most impacted by the housing projects. Because of the outcry for students’ safety in Marpole, for example, Bond said the city included representatives from the Vancouver School Board, the parent advisory committee, school staff and students. The representation in other neighbourhoods will depend on the specific needs.

“We look at each site very carefully and oftentimes people will raise issues of concern in relation to that site, which we can respond to in the development permit conditions,” she said.

Bond does not expect the negative community impact voiced in the feedback, but the Vancouver Police Department is still represented in some community advisory committees. If something security-related does happen, the site management personnel is responsible for resolving the issue.

“We strongly believe that with the right support in the right location that people can be successful and that we’re not anticipating some of the fears that have come forth with.”

Meanwhile, Mayor Gregor Robertson announced Wednesday in a press conference the city has identified a sixth location for modular housing at 155 East 37thAve. The three-storey building would house 50 units just off Main Street.

@sashalakic