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CITY OF VANCOUVER SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES DECEMBER 7 and 8, 2004 |
A Special Meeting of the Council of the City of Vancouver was held on Tuesday, December 7, 2004, at 7:30 p.m., and reconvened on Wednesday, December 8, 2004, at 7:30 p.m., in the Council Chamber, Third Floor, City Hall. Minutes have been consolidated for ease of reference.
PRESENT: |
Mayor Larry Campbell
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ABSENT: |
Councillor Tim Stevenson |
CITY CLERK'S OFFICE: |
Nicole Ludwig, Meeting Coordinator |
COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE
MOVED by Councillor Cadman
SECONDED by Councillor Bass
THAT this Council resolve itself into Committee of the Whole, Mayor Campbell in the Chair.
CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
1. DE408451 5616 Fraser Street, (Triage Special Needs Residential Facility) (File 2605)
Vancouver City Council, at its meeting on November 30, 2004, received for information an Administrative Report, dated November 19, 2004, on the proposed Triage Special Needs Residential Facility at 5616 Fraser Street, and referred this matter to a Special Meeting of City Council in order to hear from members of the public.
Accordingly, Council had before it the above noted Administrative Report, in which the Director of the Housing Centre, in consultation with the Directors of Drug Policy and Social Planning and the Chief of Police provided Council with the background and community response to a 39 residential unit Special Needs Residential Facility proposed for a City-owned site at 5616 Fraser Street to house individuals who have a mental illness and an alcohol or drug addiction. The General Manager of Community Services recommended approval.
Rob Whitlock, Senior Housing Officer, reviewed the report, responded to questions regarding city-wide plans for special needs housing, the view of the Vancouver School Board (VSB) on the proposed facility, and along with Cameron Gray, Director Housing Centre, responded to questions regarding allowing commercial leases in the building and complaints from other areas with similar facilities.
Dominic Flanagan, Housing Manager, Vancouver Coastal Health Authority (VCHA), gave an overview of the need for supportive housing, the role of VCHA in the proposed facility, staffing levels and identified the beneficiaries of such a facility. Mr. Flanagan responded to questions regarding current levels of supportive housing, current operations of existing supportive housing, cost-benefit analysis of different sizes of housing, the role of the community advisory committee and when Council will receive a report back.
Deputy Chief Constable Bob Rich, Vancouver Police Department (VPD), explained the current social problems of the area, noted new facilities need to be built outside the Downtown Eastside and advised a key to reducing property crime is to treat drug addicts. The Deputy Chief responded to questions regarding VPD experience with other Triage facilities, how the neighbourhood compares in terms of crime and drug trafficking to other areas of the city, the type of criminal activity that occurs in the area, and the level of risk to the neighbourhood and its residents should the facility be built.
Mark Smith, Executive Director of Triage, detailed Triage’s history, services and clients and indicated that with appropriate help, including safe, affordable housing, dual diagnosis patients are capable of managing their issues. Mr. Smith assured Council the proposed housing is for those patients who have already taken the first steps (e.g. – abstaining from drug use) to getting their lives back on track and emphasized that the proposal is a residential facility, not a treatment facility. Mr. Smith responded to questions regarding relapse rates, whether facility residents would have criminal records, how staffing levels were established, drug assessment of facility residents and other organizations that provide similar services. Mr. Smith assured Council that individuals with records of violence would not be residents of the facility.
Heather Hay, Director of Addictions VCHA, indicated the proposed facility provides a missing link in the continuum of services for those with addictions and mental illness and that it would not be a stand-alone facility; there would be strong links to both VCHA and VPD. Ms. Hay responded to questions regarding drug assessment, detoxification vs. treatment and the experts that will be employed by VCHA to assist the facility in providing optimum care for residents of both the facility and the area.
Lorna Howes, Director of Mental Health VCHA, indicated housing is a part of the cure and that there will be a team approach with dedicated experts to help facility residents.
The following delegations spoke in favour of the recommendations in the report:
Jill Stainsby, Advisory Committee on Disability Issues
Barbara Forster-Rickard
Thom Armstrong, Cooperative Housing Federation of British Columbia
Kimball Cariou
Tom Little
Karen O’Shannacery
Andrew Larcombe
Catharine Hume
Darrell Burnham, Coast Foundation Society (1974), Coast Mental Health Foundation
Mike Landiak
Nichola Hall
Fred Roman
Dana Christensen
Bill McMichael, Renfrew Collingwood Drug and Alcohol Committee (brief filed)
Lesley Ziegler
Bonnie Rice, Katherine Sanford Housing Society
Joan Nazif
Rosey Deol
Louise Seto
Janet Smith, Kettle Friendship Society
A summary of speakers’ comments follows:
· safe, affordable, and orderly supportive housing provides opportunity and empowerment for recovery and is therefore an integral part of the process;
· more facilities such as the one in the proposal need to be built;
· similar existing facilities have few complaints about residents;
· the proposed facility is part of the continuum of meeting housing needs in communities in Vancouver;
· fear of possible consequences is not sufficient to guide policy;
· this is a chance to do something about existing problems;
· the residents of the proposed facility will be no more dangerous than existing neighbours;
· the facility will quickly become part of the community;
· other areas of the city struggle with this issue as well;
· the Triage facility will help those who have already already chosen to make huge effort on their own in recovering from drug addiction;
· the proposed facility is a positive, low-risk addition to the community; it is a wonderful model for youth on how to engage fears with an ethic of care;
· the proposed facility allows more control over who resides there, compared to building a privately-owned apartment building or other social housing;
· the proposed facility will make treatment more accessible to those who need it;
· the facility will help reduce marginalization of those with mental illness; and
· we cannot expect to live in safe communities by taking no action and not supporting solutions to deal with homelessness and crime.
The following delegations expressed reservations about the recommendations, and suggested changes to make the proposal more acceptable to the community:
Marc Ross
Maurice Rebelo
Hubert Culham
Brian Ramor
Bonnie Friesen
John Benetti
Bella Maud
A summary of speakers’ comments follows:
· the trees in the lane should be saved as they help control noise and pollution;
· the proposed facility is too close to schools in the area;
· this housing has identifiable and controllable problems;
· start small – it can always be expanded;
· develop a city-wide plan for equitable distribution of special needs and rehabilitation services and facilities;
· there are good arguments for and against the development of the facility;
· there is a need to further explore the opposition in the neighbourhood;
· in-house treatment programs are needed;
· citizens of the Fraser Street neighbourhood feel frustrated because there is a perception the decision has already been made and they have not been heard;
· an independent review is needed in order for the community to be confident of objectivity; and
· underground parking should be considered.
The following delegations spoke in opposition to the recommendations in the report:
Mary Sutherland
Mary Ellen (Mel) Foster (brief filed)
Helen Holden
James Thekkakara
Wendy Kwan
Russ Kwan
Ken Mason, Fraser Street Business Association
Mona Peppner
David Lo
Susan Kainer (brief filed)
Rob Skelly
Gary Floyd
Patricia Kendall
Gary Ladd
Parkash Kumar (brief filed)
Gemma Grossi
Christopher McHardy
Robert Kay
Joe Bernardo
Darryl Wong
Steve Tohill
Len Miller
Geoff Lillico
Ingrid Lillico
Mary Remedios
A summary of speakers’ comments follows:
· the City must add treatment facilities in a prudent and equitable manner across the city; the prudent course of action is to prove out success with many smaller facilities rather than one large one;
· there have been problems with the process;
· the proposal strays from the original policy;
· a senior’s centre should be built on the site instead;
· two months off drugs is not a cure; someone who has been clean for 60 days is still in the first stages of recovery and should be treated as a patient;
· proponents did not provide sufficient answers to community questions and concerns;
· the reality is there will be some drug relapse, therefore testing is necessary; anyone who is serious about getting clean should not have a problem with going through drug tests; there is too much subjectivity in the proposed evaluation tool;
· an independent review is necessary for a critical analysis of the information;
· neighbourhood residents feel forgotten as the City seems to only listen to staff, VCHA and Triage;
· facility clients may refuse treatment and stay in the community, even when they are no longer living at the facility;
· more staffing is required;
· the report is misleading or incomplete;
· it is unrealistic to have the facility so close to schools;
· don’t put such a facility in a neighbourhood where residents have worked to clean it up;
· don’t set up patients to fail – this is an area where drugs are readily available on the street;
· urge Council to recommend a limit of 2 years on the permit as a testing phase;
· Triage’s promises need to be legally bound in lease terms;
· potential risks to the community must be considered;
· the neighbourhood is being put at risk because there is a small proportion of the population that can be helped with such a facility;
· there is too much uncertainty in the plan;
· the Fraser Street community is already saturated with rehabilitation, detoxification and developmental disability facilities;
· the size of the facility and its proposed location in combination with the existing crime and saturation level of other similar facilities makes it unsuitable for the area; and
· Fraser Street is the worst location the City could have chosen for the project.
Following the hearing of speakers, Vancouver City Council agreed to refer discussion and decision of this item to the Regular Council Meeting of December 14, 2004.
RISE FROM THE COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE
MOVED by Councillor Louie
THAT the Committee of the Whole Rise and Report
CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
ADOPT REPORT OF COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE
MOVED by Councillor Cadman
SECONDED by Councillor Bass
THAT the report of the Committee of the Whole be adopted.
CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
The Special Council recessed at 10:32 p.m. on December 7, and adjourned at 11:00 p.m. on December 8.
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