ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT
Date: April 23, 1996
Dept. File No. 3462
TO: Vancouver City Council
FROM: Manager of the Housing Centre
SUBJECT: Grant - D.E.R.A. Housing Information and
Relocation Service
RECOMMENDATION
THAT Council approve a grant of $19,836 to the Downtown Eastside
Residents Association (DERA) for the Housing Information and
Relocation Service for the period July 1, 1995 to June 30, 1996 to
be disbursed with the approval of the Manager of the Housing
Centre. Source of funds to be the Demolition Fee Reserve.
GENERAL MANAGER'S COMMENTS
The General Manager of Community Services RECOMMENDS approval of
the foregoing.
COUNCIL POLICY
Council established a demolition fee of $1,000 per multi-family unit and
$500 per single family unit to support housing information and
relocation assistance services.
Approval of a grant requires 8 affirmative votes of Council.
PURPOSE
This report seeks Council approval for a grant of $19,836 to the
Downtown Eastside Residents Association for the Housing Information and
Relocation Service.
BACKGROUND
During the first six months of 1990, DERA staff assisted with the
emergency relocation work for the City, in the Downtown Eastside on a
fee for service basis. At that time Council decided to regularize the
service and on June 12, 1990 Council approved a grant of $17,500 to
provide a Housing Information and Relocation Service. The grant is
jointly funded on a 50/50 cost sharing basis with the British Columbia
Housing Management Commission (BCHMC). Council approved grants in 1991
($18,462), 1992 ($19,108.70), 1993 ($19,682) and in 1994 ($19,259).
DISCUSSION
During the last funding year the DERA Relocator provided direct and
personal service in 441 cases. The relocator logged 1,514 phone calls
and made 1,170 referrals to housing agencies, and 123 house calls to
tenants in hotels throughout the Downtown Eastside.
A second full relocator position was funded on a one-year one time only
basis under a Community Initiatives Grant. This funding was provided
exclusively by BCHMC. The purpose of this grant was to allow DERA to
extend tenant organization and relocation through the area north of
Hastings Street to Boundary Road.
The service has begun a review of the hotels and rooming houses in the
Downtown Eastside to update their lists concerning phone numbers and
type of rental and to improve communications between DERA staff and the
hotel managers. Work has also been done to organize hotel tenants
against unjustified or exorbitant rent increases.
The DERA relocator assisted Tenant Assistance Program staff with
relocation from a City-ordered closure at 546 Prior Street which
displaced seven families. The DERA relocator also represented the
tenants at the Columbia Hotel with the Residential Tenancy Branch,
testing new legislation which allowed the joining of arbitrations to
have all the rent owing to the hotel redirected to the Residential
Tenancy Branch to pay for repairs. More recently, when T.A.P. responded
and did the crisis management during the fire at the Wal Mar Rooms, 67
E. Hastings, the DERA relocator managed the follow-up and permanent
relocation of the 27 tenants.
The proposed source of funds is the Demolition Fee Reserve which was
established in 1989 to fund the Housing Centre, and in particular the
initiatives that address the consequences of demolitions and the
dislocation of tenants.
CONCLUSION
Funding approval of $19,836 is sought for year six of the DERA Housing
Information and Relocation Service, a 3% increase from the previous
year. The Province, through BCHMC, provides a matching grant of
$20,272. BCMHC has approved their share of funding.
The Director of Finance advises that the funding source of this grant is
the Demolition Fee Reserve. This is a grant request and requires eight
affirmative votes for approval.
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