Prince George city council has approved a temporary use permit to construct 43 supportive housing units in the east end of downtown as a means to permanently close the Moccasin Flats encampment along Lower Patricia Boulevard.
Responding to pressure from neighbouring residents, whose quality of life has been negatively impacted by their proximity to the camp, council was unanimous in approving the permit to construct supportive housing on a vacant lot at 397 Third Avenue.
City crews were working on the site Tuesday morning to begin ground preparations that will install water and sewer lines to the site, adjacent to the existing camp. That $468,000 project was approved by council on Jan. 15. The infrastructure will service ATCO-style trailers and the city expects to have the 43-unit housing project completed sometime in the fall.
‘It’s the beginning of the end, in my opinion, if they live up to the spirit of the temporary-use permit and we can move them into that facility or other ones,” said Coun. Brian Skakun.
“Now they’re going to have a place 24/7 with food and all sorts of services (including storage space). The courts, I’m hoping, will side with us when we’ve proven we’ve done everything we can. They will be offered different choices where they can go.”
Skakun pointed out there will be other subsidized, low-rental housing becoming available in the next few months at the Knights Inn and the former Connaught Motor Inn (North Star Inn), which will provide housing options to the current camp residents.
“Talking to residents and a number of people in the community, the most important thing is to get Moccasin Flats shut down, cleaned up and have it situated in such a way where this can’t happen again,” said Skakun.
Known as a violent place frequented by drug dealers and gangs, where several campsites and tiny homes have burnt down, where fire smoke from campsites continues to plague nearby residential areas and vagrancy in the area has led to increased property crime, Mayor Simon Yu said the closure of the camp can’t happen soon enough.
“I think every person living in the camp would agree with that, every person in the city would agree with that, because that is not reflective of who we are as a people – it’s not only dangerous but we treat our animals a lot better than putting them in harm’s way like that,” said Yu.
“We need to find a way to provide better housing and transitional housing is perhaps a step towards permanent housing. We need to look holistically at the problem and we need to triage better in terms of mental health, addiction, and economic hardship. At the end of the day we must consider the issue we are facing in Prince George, it’s not unique, but we must face it together as one people.”
In a letter sent Friday to the mayor and council, Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon acknowledged the city’s request to seek an application to the courts to permanently close the Lower Patricia encampment to overnight sheltering following offers of suitable alternative shelter and housing to the encampment occupants. The city made it clear to Kahlon it intends to remediate and close the Moccasin Flats site permanently as a shelter.
The province has committed to working with BC Housing to provide funding to allow the 43-unit HEARTH (Homeless Encampment Action Response Temporary Housing) 397 transitional housing, in addition to the 45 existing and 96 new HEARTH beds to be provided at the Knights Inn and North Star Inn supportive housing projects now being built downtown.
Kahlon said a minimum of three staff members experienced in dealing with vulnerable populations will be on site at HEARTH 397 24 hours per day, seven days per week. The facility will by fully fenced and lit with controlled access to the parking area and residences and it will be monitored with security cameras.
“The fact that this will be a secured site, there will be fencing, there will be surveillance, staff, is a massive improvement,” said Coun. Ron Polillo. “There has been an enormous amount of work that has been put in by staff and council and everyone here to get to where we are now.”
The province will also provide data sharing within privacy legislation to track the number of people supported, how many are moving to other forms of housing and the number of shelter units available in the city.
“It’s not a one-size-fits-all solution, but it’s another step and provides more options,” said Coun. Susan Scott.
Deanna Wasnik, the city’s director of planning and development, said the goal is to have the three-year permit in place and the site preparation completed and the trailers installed by August or September.
In February 2022 the BC Supreme Court rejected the city’s latest application to close down the camp, after city crews dismantled much of the camp on Nov. 17, 2021. The court stated the city was in breach of an October 2021 ruling that allowed the Lower Patricia encampment to remain open until suitable housing and daytime facilities were available.
City manager Walter Babicz said even with supportive housing in place on the new site, the city must first obtain court approval before the camp can be permanently shut down.
“City council wants it closed and this is the path towards that goal,” said Babicz. “It’s more about the right evidence before the court and that evidence would come from BC Housing in terms of the offers of shelter that has been made available, the suitability of the shelter, appropriate daytime facilities, the factors the court set out in its first decision.”
Coun. Kyle Sampson said his support for the temporary use bylaw would be revoked if the camp is allowed to remain open.
Monday’s council meeting packed the gallery at city hall.
The housing issue drew 50 or 60 letters to city staff from residents of the neighbouring Miller Addition neighbourhood expressing their thoughts about the negative impact of being close to the encampment and how it has led to increased property crime, health-impacting smoke from the campfires, discarding of drug paraphernalia, vehicle break-ins and a general feeling that their security has been compromised in the more than two years the camp has existed.
Dan Duckworth has lived in the neighbourhood since 1991 and in his letter to council he acknowledged the need for proper temporary housing to take care of those in need, but he’s tired of the wishes of permanent residents being ignored.
“In order for us to support this project, the Lower Patricia encampment MUST be closed, cleaned up and fenced. If it is not, there will be no change to the air quality, nor to the crime in the area. Nobody wants people to live in the filth and garbage of the encampment, nor do we want to feel the effects of it.”
