Housing for residents with disabilities remains on hold over lack of clarity and lack of trust in province

Five months after being delayed, a Kelly Avenue affordable rental project for residents living with mental illness is still awaiting approval following a Port Coquitlam council meeting on Tuesday.

The building would be operated by New View Society while B.C. Housing provides funding and is on title as a property owner.

If council was dealing solely with New View Society, the project would pass almost immediately, said Coun. Darrell Penner.

“It comes down to trust in partnerships,” Penner said. “I don’t trust the Minister of Housing at all. That’s what this is about.”

B.C. Housing has partnered with New View for more than 30 years, said the society’s executive director Chantelle Burga.

The project is critical for renters living in housing that’s often “unaffordable or unstable,” Burga said.

Located at 2365 and 2371 Kelly Ave., the six-storey building would rent out 74 units for residents with disabilities at either rent-geared-to-income or shelter allowance rates.

“Kelly Avenue is about housing people who already belong here,” Burga said. “They live with mental health conditions but first and foremost, they’re people.”

Tenants at the independent living facility would range from young people to seniors with some needing support regularly and others only occasionally.

“This is not a one-size fits all model,” she assured council, explaining that stable housing would be better for the residents and the broader community.

Rather than a standalone service, housing is the foundation for stability and wellness, Burga said.

“This project means more to the people we serve than it does to you or I. We need to let them know that this community won’t leave them behind.”

However, before the agreement goes ahead, several councillors discussed the need to know what happens if the deal goes south.

New View has a 10-year deal with B.C. Housing – not nearly long enough for some councillors.

“New View, in my view, should be a 60-year agreement,” said Coun. Dean Washington.

After listening to council, the city’s director of planning and development Bruce Irvine said he was hearing a key question: “What happens if it’s not New View?”

Over the last five years, B.C. Housing has switched out operators on one property at the request of the operator. The housing agreement would remain in effect with a new operator, according to B.C. Housing.

“Right now the term in the agreement is a ‘similar tenant,’ but we don’t have ‘similar’ defined,” Irvine said.

Washington expressed misgivings about working with the province, saying he was left “scarred” by dealing with B.C. Housing on the homeless shelter at 3030 Gordon Avenue.

Noting the drain on the city’s police, fire and bylaw resources, Washington described the shelter as a “colossal failure.”

While discussions on the project date back several years, it may take a few months to nail down project specifics, said Mayor Brad West.

“B.C. Housing and the province took years to secure funding and get to this point, and it does rub me the wrong way the idea that . . . ‘council, your job is to rubber stamp everything,’” he said. “This is council and the city’s one opportunity to ensure that this project is as successful as it can be.”

The application includes 18 parking spots – a reduction of 56 spots from what the city would usually require. The reduction is due to many parking spots not being used in similar projects as residents living on a limited or fixed income generally don’t own a car, Burga explained previously.

At a rate of $40,000 per stall, the 56-stall variance works out to $2.24 million.

To make up for the dearth of parking, New View is set to provide a resident shuttle, 80 bike stalls, preloaded compass cards, a Modo car share and a bike share.

While he didn’t object to that arrangement, West said he wanted assurance that if those elements aren’t in place, “the payment of the variance is due to the city.”

Several councillors underscored the need to finalize the deal, with Coun. Glenn Pollock suggesting they could wrap things up in January.

“We need to get this done fast,” said Coun. Steve Darling.

City staff are set to work with New View and B.C. Housing on the “proposed parking variance impact mitigation measures.”

Staff’s work also involves providing greater clarity on plans to keep New View Society as the operator. After those elements are worked out, a revised application is slated to be come back to council.