Agenda Index City of Vancouver

1

CITY OF VANCOUVER

REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
STANDING COMMITTEE OF COUNCIL ON
PLANNING AND ENVIRONMENT

NOVEMBER 5, 1998

PRESENT:

Mayor Philip Owen
Councillor Don Bellamy
Councillor Jennifer Clarke
Councillor Alan Herbert
Councillor Daniel Lee
Councillor Don Lee
Councillor Gordon Price
Councillor George Puil
Councillor Sam Sullivan

ABSENT:

Councillor Nancy A. Chiavario (Civic Business)
Councillor Lynne Kennedy (Leave of Absence)

CITY MANAGER'S
OFFICE:

Ken Dobell, City Manager

CLERK TO THE
COUNCIL:

Nancy Largent

COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE

MOVED by Cllr. Bellamy,
SECONDED by Cllr. Don Lee,

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Report of Standing Committee
on Planning and Environment
October 22, and November 5, 1998

MOVED by Cllr. Clarke,

RISE FROM COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE

MOVED by Cllr. Bellamy,

ADOPT REPORT OF COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE

MOVED by Cllr. Bellamy,
SECONDED by Cllr. Don Lee,

The Council adjourned at 4:57 p.m.

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REPORT TO COUNCIL

STANDING COMMITTEE OF COUNCIL
ON PLANNING AND ENVIRONMENT

OCTOBER 22 AND NOVEMBER 5, 1998

RECOMMENDATION

1. Strategic Action Plan for the Downtown Eastside File: 8104

Clause No. 1 Continued

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pe981022.htm

Clause No. 1 Continued

· $150,000 recommended for Outdoor Street Programming, to be operated by the Carnegie Centre, would be better directed to the Food Bank;
· concern with benefit of funding a consultant at $60,000 to assist with carrying out an assessment, in consultation with community leaders, of how conflict resolution and mediation resources might best be used; high-priced facilitators will not work for the
Downtown Eastside; there is a need to understand key differences in the community, which includes drug users, home owners, and tenants;

Clause No. 1 Continued

· the need for a large Detox Centre(s) in the Lower Mainland (some suggested a number outside the Downtown Eastside) to help addicts get off drugs; additional funding from both the Province and Federal Government is required;
· the drug problem in the Downtown Eastside is out of control, while a number of the 24-hour convenience stores are openly dealing heroin; the "Shops Closing By-law" must be implemented now to allow the City to close businesses within established zones during certain hours;
· the DTES requires restoration, not gentrification, beginning with a community process rather than the recommended "top down" consultant process;
· Outdoor Street Programming is a positive recommendation; however, there is a need to re-examine the boundaries and include funding for both Ray Cam and Strathcona Community Centres to work with Carnegie Centre on the program;
· the initiative to reduce the number of licensed seats in the area by at least 1,000 needs to be reconsidered, as a number of the pubs provide a social network, especially to older residents (some speakers also suggested closing down more than 1,000 seats would benefit the area);
· in reference to the Organization Flow Chart proposed for the Program, it was suggested "Community Input" be linked directly to the "Policy Steering Committee"; the current chart should be used as an initial draft;
· concern that draft reports on "Housing Plan for the Downtown Eastside, Chinatown, Gastown, Strathcona" and "Victory Square Area Concept Plan", put forward for public discussion earlier this year, are no longer mentioned in the report now before Council for consideration (some felt these should come before the City Manager's Revitalization Report dated October 1, 1998);
· provide those in need in the Downtown Eastside with the basic necessities of life - food, shelter, Detox, and hope; act now;
· market housing, that does not displace the present housing, needs to be encouraged to create a tax base;
· lead players must be Economic Development Commission, in consultation with the City (Rec. A2) regarding the report back on proposals to attract legitimate businesses to Hastings Street and the Downtown Eastside, and on the development of an economic revitalization program as proposed in the National Crime Prevention application;
· the DTES Neighbourhood Safety Office is prepared to accept the plan in principle, with note no other level of government has yet attempted to work with the community on the issues;

Clause No. 1 Continued

· 30,000 Aboriginals currently reside in the area, the fertility rate is high, and many youth are falling through the cracks; the City's Aboriginal social planning position and Aboriginal Advisory Committee need to be reinstated; all levels of government must work cooperatively with the Aboriginal Peoples at finding solutions;
· 62% of the addicts frequenting the DTES are from other areas of the city; funding is needed from the Province to assist in developing resource centres throughout the Lower Mainland;
· if flow of individuals continues into the DTES the HIV rate will once again surge
· one of the key issues is the abandonment of social housing by the Federal Government in 1993, and massive cutbacks at the federal level in social programs;
· support for City initiatives to involve all three levels of government to discuss implementation of the proposed inter-government and community program to address Downtown Eastside issues as proposed in the National Crime Prevention funding application;
· the need to move forward on a by-law managing the conversion of SRO hotels, to protect the existence of the low-income community; Provincial legislation is in place to allow this to proceed;
· serious consideration must be given to related to safe injection sites - Dr. John Miller's report was referenced report ;
· a program, similar to that used in Winnipeg needs to be examined, one that offers real money and resources, with a focus on housing stabilization and community based economic development;
· viability of the neighbouring areas is threatened; police manpower is needed on Hastings Street to provide a safe environment for the more reputable businesses to again locate in the area; police presence must be reestablished in the area, with zero tolerance for illegal activities (a request was also made to extend extra police manpower to Vernon Drive);
· "community having lack of vision" is the most detrimental statement in the Administrative Report -- there are very few communities as vibrant;
· most SROs have no security, with tenants often returning in the evening to find their room has been rented out by the hotel's management to prostitutes or drug users during the day; City must send message to slum landlords that such activities and Standards of Maintenance By-law infractions will not be tolerated;

Clause No. 1 Continued

· creation of an equitable, healthy, and sustainable Downtown Eastside community through the following measures: Eastside Pride; Create an Anti-Homelessness By-law; Livable Replacement Housing; Enforcing Standards of Maintenance and Good Management; Zoning for Community Goals; and Community Development Initiatives;
· a Drug Resource Centre, rather then increased policing, should be used to handle the area's drug problem;
· the Plan does not reflect the community, nor come from the community; change must come from those living and working in the area, with all levels of government included in the process;
· social program are needed to deal with social problems, as opposed to possible harassment of poor people through over-policing and zero-tolerance attitudes
· the United Native Nations Elders are concerned with the DTES situation, the problem comes from a rich and powerful enemy; direct action is needed to take back the streets;
· the policing initiative announced on October 22 is a positive step toward normalizing the community;
· safe, stable housing is key to addressing problems of poverty and addiction;
· needle exchange and new drug user resource centre will have greater benefit once a continuum of care is in place which will allow area residents to establish themselves within the community;
· the drug scene and crime problems are symptoms of illness in the DTES, focus must be on causes -- poverty, low self-esteem, inadequate housing;
· Detox will only result in revolving door syndrome if those treated have no home to return to; gentrification will only serve to move residents and problems to other city neighbourhoods;
· explore alternative treatment for heroin and cocaine, as recommended, and also include crystal meta-amphetamine, which affects a number of young people and is a significant health problem;
· drug users must be treated as part of the community and actively involved in seeking solutions to these problems; statements that drug users will not be tolerated will only alienate the drug-using community;
· $110,000 for street level programming, but it seems strange that the funds should go to Carnegie Centre when drug users are not even allowed into the building; other organizations should receive the funding, and drug users should be involved in the programming;

Clause No. 1 Continued

· the First Nations population of the DTES is larger than most reserves in Canada, and thecommunity must be involved in the decision-making; many police are culturally insensitive, and it will not be as helpful to First Nations residents to put more police on the street as resources addressing the root problems would be;
· there are only ten detox beds available for women, far more for men, yet women are especially in need of this resource to help them keep their children from being apprehended;
· Gastown businesses support the additional policing initiative for the DTES area; do not support non-demolition of SROs, additional services to facilitate drug use in Gastown, or provision of more social housing in the area;
· financial incentives for existing legitimate businesses are needed at least as much as encouragement to new businesses; Council should consider offering financial incentives to HA-2 District property owners to maintain or upgrade their properties, since reduced dilapidation would have a salutary effect on district businesses and the area's sense of security;
· public phones are badly needed in the area to allow residents to phone for help in an emergency; public washrooms open 24 hours are also badly needed to maintain cleanliness in lanes and restore some dignity to the homeless;
· plans regarding additional police for the DTES should not have been put through without more public input; it will not cause an improvement in the area, but just lead to more surveillance and harassment; by comparison, safe fixing sites and legal maintenance programs would greatly improve the lives of drug users, and would be relatively inexpensive;
· Council was encouraged to support the Vancouver-Richmond Health Board proposal for a resource centre in the DTES area;
· when drugs are regarded as a medical matter they become far less attractive to young people;
· Council should take note of programs which have been successful in other cities; examples were offered of cities which have coped successfully even with issues outside their jurisdiction, such as Amsterdam;
· a number of speakers endorsed the need to bring the federal and provincial governments to the table with the community to discuss solutions to the area's many problems;
· the Police have been overwhelmed by the sheer number of addicts in the area, and an additional 40 officers are unlikely to do more than just move the problem around; the City needs to invest in detox, treatment and intervention with families at risk; treatment programs are about one-seventh the cost of law enforcement, and together with early intervention, offer the best chance to actually reduce the problem by breaking the cycle;

Clause No. 1 Continued

· the City should encourage high-technology firms to locate on the Hastings strip; encourage tourism by making Gastown a historic hotel district; encourage new market rent residents, thereby adding to the tax base, by building condominiums and encouraging community development corporations and encouraging tenant management cooperatives;
· the City has assumed ownership of these problems by default; other municipalities in the Lower Mainland and throughout the province should be encouraged to take ownership of the problems in their own neighbourhoods;
· hope was expressed that Vancouver is moving toward progressive change, and that any difficulties can be worked out through consultation with all affected groups;
· many SROs enforce early curfews, when guests must leave the building; residents should be able to have friends over rather than leave them sitting in front of buildings;
· nothing will work until a medical model for addiction is recognized, and society takes responsibility for these victims of disease; everyone uses some type of drug - that is why we need doctors to administer their use;
· much of what is proposed is good, but the report unfortunately dehumanizes drug users and talks about them as things; only 20% of drug users are actually addicts; if you want to know how to deal with drug users, bring them to the table as participants; and
· constructive action is desperately needed; get on with it!

Clause No. 1 Continued

"A Program of Strategic Actions for the Downtown
Eastside - Public Response and Implementation"

Clause No. 1 Continued

Clause No. 1 Continued

(Cllrs. Clarke, Daniel Lee, Don Lee, Price, Puil, Sullivan and the Mayor opposed)

(Cllrs. Bellamy, Clarke, Daniel Lee, Don Lee, Price, Puil,
Sullivan and the Mayor opposed)

(Cllrs. Clarke, Herbert, Daniel Lee, Don Lee, Puil, Sullivan and the Mayor opposed)

Clause No. 1 Continued

RECOMMENDED

A. THAT recommendations below from the “Program of Strategic Actions for the Downtown Eastside” (set out in Appendix A of the Policy Report dated October 1, 1998) which relate to City operations, originally dated July 17, 1998, be approved with amendments as shown:

Clause No. 1 Continued

* italics denote amendment

B. THAT the remaining proposals in the Program of Strategic Actions which have not been actioned and the proposed Strategic Actions as shown in Appendix B of the Policy Report dated October 1, 1998, be endorsed as an initial agenda for work proposals with government partners and the community concerning the Downtown Eastside.

C. THAT staff give immediate priority to several short-term projects which will help improve conditions on the street and encourage better working relationships among groups in the area.

D. THAT Council request the Police Board to reallocate resources to provide the high level of police visibility in Chinatown, Gastown and along Hastings Street that was provided during this summer’s special initiative.

Clause No. 1 Continued

RECOMMENDED

E. THAT the City Manager be directed to contact staff of the Vancouver School Board, the Vancouver/Richmond Health Board, the Board of Parks & Recreation and other organizations as appropriate to ensure their involvement and participation.

National Crime Prevention Program Funding Application -
"Building a Future Together - The Downtown Eastside
Revitalization Program"

RECOMMENDED

Clause No. 1 Continued

C. THAT copies of “Building a Future Together - The Downtown Eastside Community Revitalization Program” be sent to relevant Federal and Provincial Cabinet Ministers in preparation for future meetings.

D. THAT Council authorize the City Manager, in consultation with the Chief Constable and General Manager of Community Services, to develop proposal calls for consultant services and begin recruiting for key staff, implementation to be subject to approval of the application.

The meeting adjourned at 5:45 p.m. on October 22,
and at 4:55 p.m. on November 5, 1998.

(Councillor Chiavario opposed to adjournment motion on October 22, 1998)

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