Noting the risk of homelessness, a group of residents in Comox expressed their opinions Friday afternoon during an emotionally-charged meeting for a proposed development at 1946 and 1950 Comox Ave.
About 40 people filled the d’Esterre House in response to a community consultation meeting, the first step prior to the submission of an application for a development within the town.
Steve Lindsay of Brendan Developments represented the project which is proposing a four storey, multi-family development on the 2.9 acre site, where currently more than 40 tenants rent bungalow-style cabins along with a larger house.
“Where are we going to go? Where do you expect us to live?” questioned resident Peggy Sue who has been renting her home at the property since 2003.
Her comments were echoed by tenant Kim Didierserre, who noted some of the residents are low-income and suffer from physical and mental health struggles, including PTSD. As the process of possible redevelopment could take up to a year-and-a-half, Diderserre said the stress of not knowing if she - and others - will have a home is difficult on all.
The community consultation is designed to inform the community, to identify neighbourhood impacts and to obtain public feedback of the proposed development.
Representatives from the Dawn to Dawn Action on Homelessness Society and the Comox Valley Transition Society were present at the meeting. Lindsay said he spoke to Dawn to Dawn to get a better understanding of the rental situation in the Valley.
He said part of the purpose of the meeting was to gather firsthand information of those renting the cabins and added he is working on a variety of options to within the development for those who may be affected.
“You can’t help but be emotional over it. There’s a lot of people here that are fearful of where they’re going to be in a year and a half. So these are the concerns that have to be met - I know that,” he told The Record following the meeting.
“There are different things we can do to incorporate all of the concerns here and still have a nice condominium building in that we can sell units in as well. It’s a big site. If it was a small site, we’d be concerned about this whole situation and even how to move forward, but because it’s a big site and there’s a lot of opportunity for square footage on the site, we have an opportunity here.”
Lindsay couldn’t comment on the number of potential units in the building but indicated the intent would be to have underground parking.
Both Diderserre and Sue, along with other residents who spoke, noted the area is also well-known for its wildlife, including eagles, deer and blue herons.
Lindsay said a biologist was on site to survey the trees and an environmental survey will be performed.
“I’ve seen a lot of progress, and there’s a lot of us who don’t like the progress but there’s always been this support,” said Sue following the meeting. “I grew up here, and we all know that there is progress coming, but we don’t want to lose our Valley - it’s been too precious and too important to us.”
She added this is the third time the possibility of development has arisen for the property.
Additionally, Sue has a service dog and two cats and explained owning animals adds to the difficulty in finding a rental.
“We need to know that progress isn’t going to take everything from us … this is the third time I’ve been stressed wondering (if I’ll have a home.)”
Residents and the public were able to provide written feedback to the developer at the meeting.
For more information or to submit comments, email brenwin49@gmail.com.
erin.haluschak@comoxvalleyrecord.com
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