Orca Place on Corfield Rd. S., pictured under construction here, will have the space for a cold weather shelter but won't be able to use it. (Mara Kat/Facebook)

By Spencer Sterritt

ORCA PLACE

City of Parksville spends $500k to alter new supportive housing project

May 23, 2019 | 5:22 AM

Parksville councillors are making significant changes to a nearly $7-million, 52-unit supportive housing complex only a month before it opens.

The City of Parksville announced Tuesday it repaid a $492,400 Regional District of Nanaimo grant, which initially helped secure the site at 222 Corfield St. South for the supportive housing facility named Orca Place.

A condition of the grant-in-aid was including space in the facility for a cold weather shelter to help those in the Oceanside area experiencing homelessness in the damp winter months.

Though the space is available in the nearly complete building, the City announced there will no longer be a cold weather shelter available at Orca Place.

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Deb Tardiff with the City of Parksville confirmed the nearly $500,000 to pay back the RDN came from accumulated surpluses.

When asked why the City decided to spend the money to retain sole ownership of the property, Tardiff said Parksville Council was acting in response to concerns from residents.

Requests for an interview with City staff about those concerns was denied.

BC Housing is now working to find space for a cold weather shelter in Parksville, which is expected to be a difficult task.

Violet Hayes, executive director of Orca Place operator Island Crisis Care Society, said it was sad to learn the scope of the project and services offered was being changed at the last minute.

The Society previously ran a cold weather shelter out of Arbutus Grove Church for two years, which was to move into the new facility.

“I know it’s not going to be easy finding a place again,” she told NanaimoNewsNOW. “The church was very gracious in allowing us to use the building but it’s one room. It has no showers or laundry facilities and with just one room, that’s problematic when we have men and women coming in and using the shelter.”

In her experience from trying in vain to find a suitable alternative to the church shelter, Hayes said a combination of logistical challenges and stigma against those experiencing homelessness makes finding available space difficult.

Cold weather shelters typically open on Nov. 1. They are often funded in collaboration with the local municipality and the province, with provincial funding paying for nights where the temperature falls below a certain threshold and municipal funding covering all other days throughout the winter season.

This is the latest development for the contentious project. It was approved by a previous administration in 2018 and quickly divided the community.

A petition was launched in August 2018 by upset community members, including two future Parksville councillors. It claimed residents weren’t properly informed about the incoming project and they were “deprived of the opportunity to meaningfully express their opinions” at a nearly two-and-a-half hour public hearing.

In a response filed before the fall municipal election, the previous administration claimed they fully informed residents and gave ample opportunity for everyone to speak about the developing project.

However, the City later withdrew from being a respondent in the petition. It was revealed during the court matter the City’s lawyer received instructions from councillors to “not challenge or defend the petition.”

BC Housing is now a respondent in the legal case, replacing the City of Parksville.

It’s unknown when the matter will be back before the courts and what impact it would have.

Orca Place is expected to open in July as staff process the nearly 120 applications submitted for space in the 52-unit building.

spencer@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @spencer_sterrit