A proposed supportive, modular housing project in Barrie is already drawing opposition from its neighbours.
Sixty-seven of them signed a petition between Jan. 29 and Jan. 31, outlining their concerns about the planned Vespra Street development on the old fire hall site.
Joyce Chun, who owns property on nearby Sanford Street, said she had to do something when she heard about the project.
“This is so important I could not sit still,” she said, after helping circulate the petition. “There was overwhelming rejection of the idea. I don’t like it, the people don’t like it and I’ve got 67 signatures of people who don’t like it. And I only did a couple of streets.”
Concerns of the Brock Park Neighbourhood Coalition include a lack of research regarding the project’s target population, the cost to taxpayers, traffic, the environmental effects on nearby Bunker’s Creek and Kempenfelt Bay, not considering other locations and lack of consultation with neighbours and businesses there.
“Everybody has known for a long time that the city would do something with that (Vespra Street) lot, because it’s a beautiful lot, has a beautiful location, but we were not expecting something that would actually scare us all away,” said Chun, noting her first reaction was to list and sell her property. “I agree that they have to go somewhere. Something has to be done. I have no qualms about that. But the fact that this site was just selected because, well, we (the city) own it; well, the city owns other properties.
“I don’t know what to do next, I really don’t,” she added. “I’m hoping that the city will reconsider.”
“I understand well why there are concerns from neighbours with this project, as there are a lot of unanswered questions yet,” Mayor Jeff Lehman said. “A decision on this won’t be made until April, of course, but I’m sure there are already concerns about supportive housing on the site.”
Also, the petition says that modular, stacked, high-density housing does not fit with the culture and character of this area, part of the Historic Neighbourhood Strategy (HNS).
Lehman, who was chairman of the HNS community committee a decade ago, said the site doesn’t need to be an eyesore.
“Vespra Street is a fairly large site, so I don’t believe this will be a high-density proposal,” he said. “Certainly, the appearance is yet to be seen, but given what was on the site previously, and the vacant parking lot there now, I think a well-designed building would be an improvement! I do agree that quality design so that this is an attractive building will be important.”
Coun. Keenan Aylwin, who represents this part of Barrie, responded to Chun and the petition Monday morning, noting the plans for this project are anything but final.
“There’s still so much work to do and this is far from a done deal, I can’t stress that enough,” he said in a message to her.
The Ontario government defines supportive housing as a combination of housing assistance and supports that enable people to live as independently as possible in their community.
On Jan. 25, city council added $3 million to its 2021 budget for a supportive, modular housing project on Vespra Street. This support comes with a number of conditions for this development — building one-person, 450- to 500-square-foot, stackable housing units, each costing about $195,000, at the former Barrie fire hall site.
Its $3-million cost, including a $500,000 estimate for soil remediation (capped at $750,000), will be funded from debt, with final amounts to be determined through request-for-proposal planning and approval of a building proposal, with the annual debt servicing costs to be paid from the reinvestment reserve and that money be leveraged to access other funding opportunities.
After consulting with the County of Simcoe and social agencies dealing with homelessness, and before issuing the request for proposal, community and corporate services general manager Dawn McAlpine will report back to Barrie councillors on the target residents for the project, subsidy sources, key project parameters and how the city’s funding can be leveraged to access other funding opportunities.
City staff will then issue a call for proposals for a service provider to construct and manage the project, and operate the housing units.
Staff will also hold a neighbourhood meeting with the successful proponent and area residents to get feedback to help the overall implementation of the project.
Chun takes issue with the project not being called a homeless shelter.
“It has been clear from the outset that the purpose of the housing is to shelter the homeless,” she said. “It has never been spoken of as ‘affordable housing’. This is a bit like a shell game.”
Ann-Marie Quinn, who lives on Sanford Street near the proposed Vespra Street site, has started an online petition. It raises concerns about property values, crime, noise, health and safety, lack of public consultation, lack of expert opinion about the project, cost, environmental impacts, and whether the architecture and density of the proposed development blends with the historic neighbourhood.
"The city needs to find a much better location for the supported housing where it will have minimal to no impact on residential neighbourhoods. It needs to be closer to services needed by the tenants" is the petition’s premise.
But Lehman said this location could work.
“I’m not sure the appearance will be the top concern here. I think some of this is about fear that there will be a negative impact on the neighbourhood from the feared behaviour of the clientele that might live in supportive housing,” he said. “A couple of things to consider. First, that supportive housing by definition has on-site staff to help the residents get support, and to help ensure there aren’t negative impacts on neighbours.
“Second, that this is an area of the city where many residents have huge concerns today about homelessness in their area – and that this project may reduce the negative interactions between residents and those who are homeless by getting them out of places like Milligan’s Pond and having a safe place to get support,” Lehman said. “Many of the people who have signed the petition have had these conflicts and concerns (ie. Milligan’s Pond), and I see this project as both a short-term and a long-term answer.”
The Historic Neighbourhood Strategy (HNS) dates back to June 2010, and "is the first ever people-led process to look at the future needs of Barrie’s oldest residential neighbourhoods. The intent of this process was to ask the residents who live here how the city can ensure this area remains a livable community for those here today and those who will be here in the future — what is it that makes this area great; what is it that makes this area not so great; and what it is that we as a city need to look to change for the future."
The HNS region stretches from Allandale through the Brock Street area, west to Highway 400, to the Queen’s Park area, to the downtown and north to Grove Street.
The link to the online petition can be accessed by clicking here.
