Council OK’s possible legal challenge to Victory shelter

City staffers got a green light from their bosses Tuesday to spend up to $300,000 on a legal challenge to close the old Victory Church homeless shelter in downtown Penticton.

But asking a judge to intervene “should be the last tool that we would use,” said Coun. Julius Bloomfield.

“Negotiating and continuing dialogue with BC Housing is the first course of action,” he added.

Pursuing legal action was among four recommendations put forward by staff and adopted unanimously by council.

The others are: continue negotiations with the province, landlord and operator to transition residents of the 42-bed shelter to other homes and close the shelter; work with the landlord and operator to decrease nuisances; and send a letter to Premier John Horgan asking him to personally intervene in the matter.

The staff recommendations were crafted based on the results of two surveys through which council sought public opinion to help guide its approach to the shelter, which has been operating without municipal approval since April 1.

While initially proposed as a winter shelter that would close March 31, the B.C. government has said there remains a clear need for the facility and will use its powers to override the will of council and keep it open.

The surveys ran March 31 to April 10 and captured two distinct groups: a general survey open to the public that received 3,472 responses; and a random sample of 421 people from the Shape Your City database the city uses for ongoing consultation efforts.

Results from the random sample are considered accurate to within 4.8%, 19 times out of 20, according to Discovery Research, the polling firm hired by the city.

In the larger group, 64% of respondents supported council’s decision not to authorize the continued operation of the shelter, while the number dropped slightly to 61% in the random sample.

Asked whether they supported the B.C. government’s decision to override council, 66% of respondents in the larger group and 67% in the random sample said no.

But there was less support on the thornier issue of the city spending up to $300,000 challenging the province in court. That proposal garnered 51% among the larger group, and just 39% in the random sample.

“It’s no surprise that the community would be pretty well split… on proceeding to that legal challenge on this and, of course, the real cost that represents,” said Coun. Frank Regehr, “but I think maintaining every option that we have is important.”

Coun. Judy Sentes suggested the controversy could have been avoided if the B.C. government and its agencies had properly consulted with the city beforehand.

“I don’t believe there was any recognition on their part that they were putting this (shelter) right in the middle of three significant retirement centres,” said Sentes.

“I think the city has no choice but to stand up for the betterment of our entire community.”