City Council gave first reading to rezone the Grace Inn in Downtown Quesnel at Tuesday (Jan 16) night’s meeting.
BC Housing has this property under contract for purchase, but can’t move forward on that until it is rezoned.
Kirsten Bailee, a Development Manager with BC Housing, went over their proposed plans.
“This is important to BC Housing because currently BC Housing leases units on the site, but we would be interested in creating permanent supportive housing at 530 Carson Avenue. In addition, BC Housing would like to work with the City of Quesnel, the Housing Solutions Table, local neighbours and the business community, to explore a phased redevelopment of this site to provide a range of supportive and affordable housing options.”
Bailee said that they have already started the public consultation process and that they will be hosting a community dialogue session on January 23rd.
Councillor Scott Elliott, citing a massive need in the community, was among those in support of rezoning this property.
“I want to thank BC Housing because when we had conversations before we were really hoping to get the community engagement, get the message out there, and fortunately this time we’ve had that amount of time to do it and it’s taking place. I really think this is a wonderful thing and I hope we can get support and see this to fruition.”
Councillor Mitch Vik, the Acting Mayor, was also pleased with the process this time around.
“The process has been fantastic, lots of lead time, great for consultation. The property in question definitely needs some investment, and I think this sounds like the beginnings of a good partnership.”
A BC Housing proposal for supportive housing at the downtown Ramada Inn was rejected by Council back in September of 2020 in part because of a lack of notice in addition to a lack of public support.
The City has scheduled a public hearing for Tuesday, February 20th at 5:30 p.m. in Council Chambers.
