Straight Talk on MOU’s
Speaker 164 addressing CoV Council on Item 3, CD-1 Rezoning: 2086-2098 West 7th Avenue, and 2091 West 8th Avenue, reconvening July 14, 2022
If Council does not have sufficient information right now to implement these conditions, such as optimal levels of staffing, a question that BC Housing itself is unable to answer, this rezoning application must be rejected. Clarity is needed before counsel can discharge its duty to the public to make these decisions.
The audio version of this contribution can be found here.
Mayor and Councillors, you know my name is Patrick and I'm a resident of Vancouver.
I oppose the rezoning application and share the concerns of the eloquent and passionate residents of Vancouver you've already heard from in opposition to this project, but I will not repeat those concerns.
Instead I will use my five minutes to outline the funding model for this project and the operating agreement, and the operating agreement and why they should matter to you, particularly as Mayor and as Council both for considering this rezoning application and in the face of the upcoming fall election.
On repeated occasions throughout this hearing we have heard, and a suggestion has been made that if the council does not approve this rezoning for this site funding could be lost and allocated to different areas and to different support services in this province.
I submit that this is a red herring. Funding for this project has been specifically set aside for supportive housing located anywhere in the City of Vancouver. In May 2020, this an important date to note, in May 2020 Council approved in camera the draft terms of a memorandum of understanding, an MOU between the City, BC Housing and CMHC for the permanent supportive housing initiative.
Later, on July 28, 2020, Vancouver Affordable Housing Association issued a preliminary site approval recommendation for this specific site under the initiative and that recommendation confirmed that BC Housing, the City of Vancouver and CMHC are entering into an MOU, which, as we know, was approved in May, to deliver more than 300 units of supportive housing across the City of Vancouver. BC housing will fully fund the capital and operating cost of the project, as well as manage construction. CMHC will contribute to the capital cost and the City will provide the site via a nominal ground lease. So what we know from that, is that the MOU was approved in principle by Council prior to the recommendation that the Arbutus site was suitable for the proposed building. Any suggestion that funding would be lost if this particular site is not approved for rezoning is at best inaccurate and at worst misleading.
Any suggestion that funding would be lost if this particular site is not approved for rezoning is at best inaccurate and at worst misleading.
The second point I wanted to talk about is the operating agreement. The sample agreement for the BC 'Building BC Supportive Housing Fund and Operating Agreement' is closely related to the topic of funding. This agreement will have the single biggest impact on the success or failure of this building, if it is approved.
We've been told that the operating agreement is negotiated between BC Housing and the operator and its terms are not yet known.
Because this is city-owned land, the truth is Council can and should impact the terms of the operating agreement. It can do so by mandating required provisions in the housing agreement and the lease to BC Housing to minimize risk.
These conditions ought to include at minimum 6 points:
A diversity of unit types,
Minimum staffing levels,
On premises recovery-based health services,
Criminal record checks,
Measures to minimize shadowing on the school playground and park and,
Measures to minimize traffic risks.
If Council does not have sufficient information right now to implement these conditions, such as optimal levels of staffing, a question that BC Housing itself is unable to answer, this rezoning application must be rejected. Clarity is needed before counsel can discharge its duty to the public to make these decisions.
So, at this point you may be wondering, why you should do anything other than rubberstamp this application? Your mandate is to tackle a homelessness crisis that is getting worse year over year.
But how does Council meaningfully tackle a homelessness crisis? You can start by forcing BC Housing's hand to get better results for the proposed residents and neighbours. We know the funds will not disappear.
Neighbours and the community are more than willing to engage in meaningful dialogue to support a building that is compatible with this unique location in the shared goal of getting folks off the street and guaranteeing them the support they need.
You were brave enough to run for public office and I ask you to be brave enough to reject this rezoning application so a solution with the community can be created, something better for everyone.
Thank you!