On the morning of Wednesday (May 1) a group of 20 residents banded together for a press conference near 925 Braidwood Rd.
The three-acre site was purchased on March 28 by BC Housing for the construction of a supportive housing development and a purpose-built shelter.
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Scott Larsen, spokesperson of the newly formed 925 Braidwood Neighbours group, welcomed the crowd and opened his address by quoting BC Housing spokesperson Shrief Fadl.
“‘The property at 925 Braidwood was chosen after consultation and review with community partners and city staff’ said the spokesman,” Larsen quoted. “What I would like to know is, as neighbours of this neighbourhood, are we not community partners? We were not consulted.”
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More than a month after BC Housing announced its purchase, Larsen said that neither the province nor the city has connected with the community.
“It’s very unnerving (and) this whole process is not very transparent,” said Larsen. “They keep moving the pieces without telling us.”
Larsen also expressed that the purchase of the land by BC Housing came as a shock since the original zoning for this was for a retirement home.
Although he recently met with Courtenay Mayor Bob Wells and city officials, Larsen made it clear that the conference aimed to send a message to both the city and the province that nearby residents want to be involved in discussions.
“At this point, we take no stand for or against this development,” said Larsen. “We, as the 925 Braidwood neighbours, have two concerns: we need answers to our many questions and we need transparency.”
Larsen said that the 925 Braidwood Neighbours are not opposed to the idea of having a supportive housing facility and homeless shelter in their area.
“Before you think we are NIMBYs - Not In My Backyard - think again,” Larsen said. “We understand there’s a critical housing shortage for the marginalized as well as the non-marginalized in our community.
“We’re also concerned about the safety of the homeless because those two (facilities) are going to face Ryan Road (which) is a busy artery - much busier than Cliffe.”
Concerned about the execution of this housing project, the neighbour group doesn’t want to see a Connect Centre 2.0 at their doorstep.
“Many of us (have read) about vandalism and everything (that’s happening) downtown,” Larsen said. “It makes one wonder why the city wants to relocate the Connect Centre on this side of the river and in our neighbourhood. They have not made a case to us as the people who live and work here.”
The mayor’s response
In response to the shock felt by many residents after the site’s purchase, Wells explained that the secretive nature of these purchasing procedures is customary.
“Unfortunately, when it comes to purchasing land (from the) municipal, provincial or federal government, there’s a sort of in-camera component to that,” Wells said. “If a seller finds out that the government wants to buy their land, that land price will often go up exponentially. For those reasons, it’s really kept tight until the land is purchased.”
Having met with a dozen people over the last week, Wells said he is aware of the concerns shared by many neighbours.
The ball is now in BC Housing’s camp to connect with the nearby residents, added Wells, since they are the ones in charge of the land and project.
“Construction isn’t going to start tomorrow. This is going to be a bit of a lengthy process,” said Wells. “There’s going to be lots of time for consultation and that’s going to be up to BC housing to actually set those dates.”
“We’re really expecting that (BC Housing will) have open houses and speak with our community members, especially the residences that are adjacent.”
The next step in this process, Wells explained, will be to rezone the location.
“(Both our and BC Housing’s staff are) in constant communication,” said Wells. “They’re meeting regularly to make sure that all of that is happening as properly as possible. “We’re now waiting for BC housing to come forward with the rezoning application with detailed designs, plans, all those things. That’s what the city needs in order to move forward with the rezoning.”
BC Housing’s response
In a statement sent to the Record, BC Housing mentioned being committed to updating neighbouring residents and businesses about the housing project development.
“We understand the importance of updating the community as this proposed development progresses,” the statement reads. “BC Housing will host engagement opportunities, such as in-person open houses, virtual dialogue sessions, etc., in the coming months as we move into the rezoning process where community members people can learn more about the project.
“In addition, BC Housing is preparing letters for immediate neighbours that will be sent out shortly.”
For questions, comments, or more information on the 925 Braidwood Rd. housing project, Wells and BC Housing invites residents to visit https://bit.ly/44wPIgL