Prince George city council voted 6-2 in favour of granting a Christian-focused supportive housing facility a two-year temporary use permit at its meeting on Monday, Feb. 24 despite a recommendation from administration to reject the application.
Set Free Recovery, run by Richard and Angie Korkowski, sought the permit to operate supportive housing and services for men struggling with substance abuse at 3809 Pinewood Ave. The facility would serve up to 11 clients and one live-in staff member.
Ahead of the meeting, Richard told The Citizen they aimed to follow the same Christian-based programming they previously ran in the Abbotsford and Chilliwack areas.
The application included a petition signed by 21 people, including six residents of Pinewood Avenue, as well as 17 letters of support, though two of those letters were from the same individual.
Administration recommended rejection, noting that 12 residents would be nearly double the allowed capacity for a community care facility under current zoning.
Deanna Wasnik, director of planning and development, noted during the meeting that 18 items of correspondence were included in the handout for councillors, 12 of which were in support and six in opposition.
Wasnik also pointed out that other similar facilities in the city are located along collector and arterial roads, whereas this one is situated within an established two-unit residential neighbourhood on a corner lot bounded by local roads.
“Administration struggles to support the supportive housing use at this location, as the intensity of the operation may cause negative land use impacts on the surrounding area related to noise, parking, and traffic,” Wasnik said.
Coun. Susan Scott, who visited the site, expressed support for the facility.
“I believe strongly not only in what their intent is, but also the location that they are in and the degree to which they have reached out to neighbours and engaged people directly,” Scott said. “There is no indication from their previous location that there has been any sort of issue.”
Scott added that the applicants appeared to be making efforts to be good neighbours and that the building was well-suited to residents’ needs.
Mayor Simon Yu asked if Wasnik was advocating for rejection without having visited the site. She confirmed she hadn’t, prompting a shrug from the mayor.
Coun. Kyle Sampson raised a point of order, calling the mayor’s remark inappropriate. Sampson stated he did not believe the facility was an appropriate land use for the property.
Coun. Trudy Klassen, though she had not visited the property, expressed support based on the information from her colleagues and the success of the applicants' previous venture in Abbotsford.
“Hopefully we get a service that is much, much needed,” Klassen said.
Coun. Garth Frizzell thanked Wasnik for thoroughly weighing the application against city regulations. However, he expressed support for the two-year temporary use permit based on his own visit to the site and the letters of support, including one from Northern Health.
Manager of legislative services Ethan Anderson informed council that the author of the letter from Northern Health had requested it be retracted, but this had not been reflected in the handout package. Anderson advised council not to consider the letter in their decision.
Coun. Ron Polillo pointed out that the applicants’ letter of intent stated that the location chosen for the facility wasn’t ideal.
Considering council’s previous rejection of a similar project, Polillo said he respected the applicants' intention but could not support the current application, as he felt the location was unsuitable.
Yu referenced the council's earlier denial of a similar application but did not specify the project. Last September, council rejected a temporary use permit for Integrity Recovery Society to run a residential substance treatment centre on Rochester Crescent.
Coun. Tim Bennett agreed that the location was not ideal but said he would propose a one-year temporary use permit. He was open to compromising for the two-year permit suggested by Frizzell.
The two-year temporary use permit was approved, with Sampson and Polillo voting against.
Now that the application is approved, Set Free must either apply for another temporary use permit after the two years or seek a rezoning of the property. If another TUP is issued, it cannot be renewed a second time, and the applicants would have to either move or apply for permanent rezoning.
Following the vote, Yu apologized for his earlier remarks but emphasized the importance of visiting properties like this when the opportunity arises.
Sampson once again raised a point of order, calling Yu’s comments inappropriate. Yu responded that he prefers to deal with matters directly.
