Quesnel City Council has now officially pushed the re-start button on a supportive housing project on Elliott Street in West Quesnel.
Council unanimously gave first reading to the change to the Official Community Plan and Zoning for the new project, which doesn’t include a shelter component.
Tanya Turner is the Director of Development Services…
“The original proposal was for 28 units for a housing facility with two temporary stay shelter units for up to eight individuals and a space for ten extreme weather shelter beds. The revised letter of intent from BC Housing removes the shelter component and converts to 32 units with continued programming and common spaces.”
Turner says the footprint of the building could be reduced.
She says this would be a spot zoning to allow supportive housing in this zone.
Council also had to rescind the earlier changes to the OCP and the zoning for the old project.
At this point there will still be another open house and public hearing, although Mayor Bob Simpson says he would prefer to skip the open house.
He says otherwise they have to wait for BC Housing to award a contract to operate the facility…
“So you’re looking at a couple of months, 2-3 months at least for that RFP to go out, for it to be vetted, for the contract to be awarded, before an operator can actually then engage in that process.”
Simpson feels everything is spelled out in BC Housing’s description of this new project and he’s worried about losing another building season.
Councillor Shushil Thapar, on the other hand, would prefer to have another open house…
“The way this project in the community, people basically thinking it’s gone away. It’s a change and now we’re calling it new Elliott Street project, I think the public needs to be informed.”
Council will re-visit that issue once a request for proposals has gone out.
Council is still insisting that the facility operator enter into a Good Neighbour Agreement with the City and other stakeholders and that BC Housing enter into a Housing Agreement with the City.