MODULAR MISSTEPS
City deals with backlash
More modular housing is coming to more Vancouver neighbourhoods — it’s not a question of if, but of when and where.
Another question remaining is: How can the city avoid backlashes in other parts of town like the one they’ve recently battled in Marpole?
This week, Vancouver city council will discuss proposed amendments to bring temporary modular housing — a relatively quick and inexpensive type of building meant to address the immediate needs of Vancouver’s growing homeless population — to several neighbourhoods. A staff report before council Tuesday recommends amendments to make the city “as nimble and efficient as possible” to help those hit hardest by the housing crisis, and follows changes recently approved by council to “simplify” the process for building temporary modular housing.
But even with the most nimble and efficient regulatory framework in place, the implementation of such projects can be anything but simple at the street level, as exemplified by the furor that erupted this month over a planned 78-unit temporary modular complex in Marpole.
Last Monday, more than 200 people reportedly attended a heated protest at the Marpole site. Within hours, Mayor Gregor Robertson responded with a hastily organized press conference on the steps of City Hall, saying he was “disheartened to hear of the number of people protesting” and concerned about the “vicious” tone the opposition had taken.
So with at least another dozen of these projects coming to various parts of Vancouver, one imagines city officials are hoping the process won’t be quite as acrimonious every time.
Kent Munro, Vancouver’s assistant director of planning, said Monday: “I can tell you, the city has learned from this experience in Marpole.”
Noting some Marpole residents were upset they felt the project was sprung upon them, Munro said: “There is a recognition that we will introduce these as early as we possibly can.”
“It’s not surprising people feel it’s rushed and they want more time to understand it and to comment on it,” Munro said. “But we have to weigh that against the fact that the winds are blowing and snow’s coming and people are living outside and we want to get them housed.”
The city hopes to hold more public education events, to “get out ahead” of the issue, Munro said.
“Last week, there were four nights of those events in Marpole, but unfortunately those came after the announcement, so I think we want to reverse that and have those right off the bat in the future ... I think now we realize we have to bring people along and remind them of what the need is.”
Some of the Marpole opposition can be explained by the fact it was Vancouver’s first modular housing project announced for a primarily residential neighbourhood. Last Wednesday, the city announced two additional modular housing sites, in a largely industrial area on Franklin Street, and a site on Powell Street near many existing social housing projects. It’s not surprising these two projects (and the city’s previous modular project at Main and Terminal) have not, so far, met the same kind of local opposition as Marpole.
But the areas impacted by Tuesday’s council item include some upscale residential neighbourhoods like Coal Harbour and False Creek North, where the city will seek to bring local residents on board.
“I guess if there’s a silver lining here, it’s that it’s sparked attention to the issue,” Munro said. “It has been good to get awareness and get people thinking about it and talking about it.”
A Marpole protester told Global News on Friday that Stanley Park would be the best place for Vancouver’s homeless. Another told Metro he believed a better site would be in the industrial section of south Vancouver near the Fraser River, far from any residences.
But it’s not necessarily sound urban planning to stick social housing off in an isolated, remote corner of the city cut off from transportation and social networks, said Andy Yan, director of SFU’s City Program.
“You want this to have a semblance of being part of a community, as opposed to being an outpost out in an industrial zone,” Yan said. “As Canadians, we have an underlying value for working with people who have just fallen on hard times and to help them back up again, and I think part of that is making sure that they are part of our urban fabric, they’re not isolated in a colony of convenience.
“I think the city has a tough job in front of it, because they have to rebuild this trust and bring down the fear,” Yan said. “They got off on completely the wrong foot. At the end of the day, they’ll probably put (the Marpole housing) through — but then the question is, at what civic cost?”
Munro said city officials are engaging with neighbourhood groups in areas set to be home for the next rounds of projects — expected to be announced soon — and the level of openness and support has been encouraging.
“It is something there’s generally quite a significant level of support for across the city,” Munro said. “Having said that, yes, when it lands in different neighbourhoods, the reaction is going to be a little bit different or take some getting used to. But I think overall, people understand this is something we have to dip our oar in the water and row together.”