Kitsilano supportive housing project approved by Vancouver City Council

Jul 27 2022, 4:24 am

Following a tumultuous public hearing spanning six days over an entire month, Vancouver City Council has approved the controversial plan by BC Housing to build a supportive and social housing building in Kitsilano.

City Council approved the project Tuesday evening in an 8-3 vote, with TEAM councillor Colleen Hardwick, NPA councillor Melissa De Genova, and ABC councillor Sarah Kirby-Yung opposed.

Throughout the public hearing, City Council heard from roughly 300 public speakers, including many neighbourhood residents who voiced their opposition over the concerns of impacts. City Council also received over 2,100 written notes from the public on the project, with more than 1,500 opposed and over 500 in support.

With the rezoning now approved, BC Housing is expected to submit a development permit application later this year, allowing construction to begin sometime in 2023.

The City-owned site at 2086-2098 West 7th Avenue and 2091 West 8th Avenue (the northeast corner of the intersection of Arbutus Street and 8th Avenue) — immediately north of the future entrance into SkyTrain Arbutus Station and the 99 B-Line bus exchange, and fronting the Arbutus Greenway — will be developed into a 13-storey building with 129 single-occupancy units for individuals experiencing or at risk of homelessness.

Most of the public opposition relating to the project relates to concerns over whether this is an appropriate location house people experiencing homelessness, the height and form of the building, and public safety concerns given the project’s adjacency to St. Augustine Elementary School, playgrounds, and a public park.

Public disorder and safety issues in neighbourhoods and districts arising from the opening of supportive housing projects was repeatedly brought up, including suggestions that there is a lack of accountability and action when concerns are raised by affected residents and businesses.

Critics also asserted the building does not provide a sufficient level of support services, that the building should provide housing for families instead of only single individuals, and that BC Housing’s public consultation process was inadequate and not transparent.

“To me, this is about a crossroads we are facing as a society,” Shayne Ramsay told City Council today, noting that this is the first time he has spoke in support of a project in a public hearing during his 22 years as the CEO of BC Housing.

“Do we support this development and, not to put too fine a point on it, save the lives of our neighbours by putting a safe secure roof over their head or do we kick the can down the road in the name of NIMBYism — right project, wrong location? And that is largely based on fear, ignorance, and discrimination.”

2086-2098 West 7th Avenue 2091 West 8th Avenue Vancouver supportive housing

Site of the supportive housing tower at 2086-2098 West 7th Avenue and 2091 West 8th Avenue (highlighted in blue) and the future site of SkyTrain Arbutus Station and the 99 B-Line bus loop (highlighted in orange). (Human Studio Architecture & Urban Design/BC Housing)

2086-2098 West 7th Avenue 2091 West 8th Avenue Vancouver

Site of the supportive housing project at 2086-2098 West 7th Avenue and 2091 West 8th Avenue, Vancouver. (Google Maps)

Ramsay noted a similar supportive housing project — 13 storeys with 109 units — at 1406-1410 East King Edward Avenue (southeast corner of the intersection of Knight Street and King Edward Avenue) was approved by City Council last month. It was approved in a relatively expeditiously manner over a single public hearing date.

Both the Kitsilano and Knight/King Edward projects are part of a partnership between BC Housing, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, and the municipal government to build 300 units of housing for people experiencing homeless on five City-owned sites — in response to the escalating homelessness, addiction, and mental health crisis exacerbated by the pandemic. Both proposals left the gate at the same in February 2021, when BC Housing first publicly announced their intentions for the two sites.

Ramsay suggested that reducing the height, switching to affordable housing for families instead of individuals, or any significant redesign would “compromise the project” — resulting in fewer homes, impacting the project cost, and jeopardizing the ability to execute the project. He says the construction cost of the project is pegged at $64 million, while the annual operating cost is about $3 million. If the project is rejected, says Ramsay, the provincial funding available for this particular project could go into another jurisdiction.

BC Housing has selected not-for-profit entity MPA Society to operate the building and serve residents upon completion.

During the previous public hearing date on Monday, Julian Somers, a professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences at Simon Fraser University, an expert on homelessness, mental illness, addiction, and crime, told City Council that his opposition to this project is on the basis that this is another expansion of a broken model of housing.

Somers worked at Riverview Hospital in the 1980s, and has performed 35 years of clinical practice and research on harm reduction, and recovery from addiction and mental illness.

“There has been little mention of mental illness in these public hearings or the fact that recovery from mental illness is common and attainable, with the appropriate support. Evidence that unaddressed mental illness plays a central role in BC’s crisis of homelessness, crime, addiction, and death is overwhelming, and I oppose this proposal because the built form of this building is markedly at odds with that evidence,” said Somers.

2086-2098 West 7th Avenue 2091 West 8th Avenue Vancouver BC Housing Supportive Housing 2022

2022 revised concept of the supportive housing tower at 2086-2098 West 7th Avenue and 2091 West 8th Avenue, Vancouver. (BC Housing)

2086-2098 West 7th Avenue 2091 West 8th Avenue Vancouver BC Housing Supportive Housing

2022 revised concept of the supportive housing tower at 2086-2098 West 7th Avenue and 2091 West 8th Avenue, Vancouver. (BC Housing)

Based on his research and large-scale participant studies, Somers says the building for its type of use is too big, its design does not foster recovery and the social reintegration of residents, and it has the wrong mix of residents.

For optimal outcomes, Somers stated there is a need for social diversity of residents, as opposed to “concentrating people who are all coming from similar histories, and similar social disadvantages.” Housing for such individuals should not only be decent and affordable, but also dispersed, which provides them with “the dignity to choose” to experience “social surroundings that are normalizing and healthier.”

“Imagine two buildings: one with a cross-section of society living in affordable housing, and the other with people living at the shelter rate and all experiencing homelessness, mental illness, and addiction,” he said. “Which building would you choose to live in? If you choose affordable socially diverse housing, why should we expect people who experience mental illness to choose differently?”

“By approving single-room congregate housing for people who are amongst the hardest to house, Council would expose residents to excess medical emergencies, and preventable involvement in crime. By endorsing that the shelter rate should in any way define the standard of housing available to people with serious mental illness, Council would be practicing stigma, while restricting opportunities for reunion to children and social reintegration more broadly.”

But Somers also suggested that the more additional social and supportive housing is built within Vancouver, the more individuals with complex needs will arrive to the city. He says that based on a previous study he conducted that involved 500 participants who were homeless for an average of 10 years and experience mental illness, only 17% were in Metro Vancouver when they became homeless.

“Building something like this is essentially further declaring that the only place in BC where you’re going to get help are big buildings in Kitsilano and other places like that because nothing like this is happening elsewhere,” he said.

2086-2098 West 7th Avenue 2091 West 8th Avenue Vancouver BC Housing Supportive Housing

Ground-level floor plan for the supportive housing project at 2086-2098 West 7th Avenue and 2091 West 8th Avenue, Vancouver. (BC Housing)

2086-2098 West 7th Avenue 2091 West 8th Avenue Vancouver BC Housing Supportive Housing

Level 3 floor plan for the supportive housing project at 2086-2098 West 7th Avenue and 2091 West 8th Avenue, Vancouver. (BC Housing)

2086-2098 West 7th Avenue 2091 West 8th Avenue Vancouver BC Housing Supportive Housing

Typical tower floor plan, levels 4 to 13, for the supportive housing project at 2086-2098 West 7th Avenue and 2091 West 8th Avenue, Vancouver. (BC Housing)

To address some of the issues raised by critics, including those by Somers, City Council unanimously approved ABC councillor Lisa Dominato’s first policy amendment that adds new terms and conditions to the City of Vancouver’s property lease agreement to BC Housing. The selected non-profit housing operator will be required to assess tenants to ensure “a balanced and successful tenant mix,” and BC Housing will need to explore partnering with an agency to offer on-site health services, explore funding an-site wrap-around services team with medical, social, and vocational expertise, establish a “Community Advisory Committee” with area stakeholders such as the adjacent school and church, and report to the municipal government annually on the project’s tenanting, operations, public area maintenance, community safety, and the Community Advisory Committee.

During the deliberations on Dominato’s first amendment, Hardwick deemed the measures as “making superficial or cosmetic changes to a product in a futile effort to disguise its fundamental failings” or “lipstick on a pig.”

Shortly after, Dominato retorted the amendments are “not lipstick on a pig, so just to be clear, councillor Hardwick,” who ultimately voted in support of the amendments she criticized.

However, City Council rejected Dominato’s second amendment calling on BC Housing to explore adding ground-level social enterprise retail space to support employment opportunities and skills training for the residents.

City Council approved ABC councillor Rebecca Bligh’s amendment on directing City staff to explore with BC Housing options — including but not limited to the different housing funding streams available — to increase the mix of unit types in the proportion of identified social housing units to better reflect the housing needs in the area.

COPE councillor Jean Swanson, who voted against Bligh’s amendment, questioned why it is an issue to have a big building containing 100% low-income residents with needs, but 100% market residential ownership buildings are not deemed unhealthy. She suggested low-income people in mixed-tenure buildings are judged by their market condominium neighbours.

“From my experience, there’s often a community of low incomes, and that community of each other gets people through the day, week, and their lives,” said Swanson.

“Over the last few days, we’ve heard from a lot of people who aren’t poor and homeless, don’t have mental illness, and probably don’t use illegal drugs. Tell us what people who are poor, who do use drugs, and have mental illness… tell us what they want and need, and what’s good for them.”

 

 

2086-2098 West 7th Avenue 2091 West 8th Avenue Vancouver BC Housing Supportive Housing

2022 revised concept of the supportive housing tower at 2086-2098 West 7th Avenue and 2091 West 8th Avenue, Vancouver. (BC Housing)

2086-2098 West 7th Avenue 2091 West 8th Avenue Vancouver BC Housing Supportive Housing

2022 revised concept of the supportive housing tower at 2086-2098 West 7th Avenue and 2091 West 8th Avenue, Vancouver. (BC Housing)

TEAM councillor Colleen Hardwick: “Development is a business, regardless of whether it is for a non-profit. There are business deals in the development pipeline… so following the money, it is the business model, in my view, that should really suggest some questioning, and the rush. The attitude that ‘I will take my ball and go home’ if you don’t conform with what we want to, I’m just  really concerned that we should not be held hostage by BC Housing. This is the antithesis of good governance, the public will has been marginalized in order to seemingly manufacture consent.”

ABC councillor Sarah Kirby-Yung: “We have a duty to lift up people who don’t always have a voice, and really need the housing. We also have a duty to represent the community we’re hearing from to ensure the success of the project. I don’t think that this project is just about Arbutus & 7th, I think this is a bigger and broader conversation in a moment in time around the model where Council has an opportunity to ask for better outcomes and supports for people who need it desperately.”

ABC councillor Rebecca Bligh: “I want people who need housing to live here… when I was 21 as a single mom, my kids went to the daycare here, and they gave me an opportunity to have my kids cared for, sit on their board. They gave opportunities for families who need two parents to work, when most privileged families didn’t need that… To have it come back and provide the same value to the community in the same way, as a legacy of that land, is what touches me.”

OneCity councillor Christine Boyle: “People need and deserve choices… and I’m certain there are 129 homeless residents, our neighbours, who would choose this building over their current situation in a heartbeat.”

Green Party councillor Pete Fry: “Just recognizing that the amendments and commitments we saw come forward — and those commitments to working with the community — should provide some proof and comfort to the folks who have been worried about this, knowing that the process does work and that they have been heard.”

ABC councillor Lisa Dominato: “I really think it’s important we hear from the public’s input and consider it. While there have been some changes [through amendments], I don’t know if it has gone far enough. That being said, I’ve spent much of my career in the public sector, including six years on the Kettle Society, and I’ve seen supportive housing work and co-exist in neighbourhoods around the city. A lot of it is dependent on the operator.”

NPA councillor Melissa De Genova: “This council needs to ask yourself if you’ve shown the leadership in rolling up your sleeves to help the residents we stood for Yaletown where the overdose prevention site (OPS) went up… we promised them better, we promised them dialogue, and it never happened. How can this community count on us to provide something when can’t even provide it to other communities? That concerns me. In fact, many people have reported that most councillors who supported the OPS have not called them back, even though they promised to follow up. We now have Covenant House against that OPS.”

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