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Dec 5,2007 Tri City News

By Lara Gerrits - The Tri-City News - December 05, 2007
Snow, rain — and now, the clock — are obstacles for homeless people seeking a warm, dry place to lay their heads next month.

Coquitlam city council voted unanimously Monday to give second and third readings to a zoning amendment bylaw that would allow three churches to host a proposed cold/wet weather mat program.

But councillors also voted unanimously to attach a housing agreement to the bylaw, originally slated for final reading next Monday, Dec. 10, and that agreement has yet to be drafted.

That means it’s crunch time this week for city staffers, who will work with the three host churches — Coquitlam Alliance, Eagle Ridge Bible Fellowship and Calvary Baptist — to quickly draft the agreement mandating management and operation, including time limits, of the proposed temporary shelters. (The agreement is expected to include a time limit ending March 2008 so the city can review the program before considering whether to extend it into next winter).

It is hoped it will be available for council’s initial nod of approval Monday, said city planner Jim McIntyre, and ready for final approval during a special council meeting next Wednesday.

If not, the program will have to wait until after the first council meeting of the new year, Jan. 7, before moving into Coquitlam.

Although every city councillor was sympathetic to the issue of homelessness, some noted allowing the temporary fix amidst such strong community opposition was one of the toughest decisions they’ve made.

“I will support this because I feel that I must,” said Coun. Mae Reid, noting all levels of government “better get off our butts and find a place, in the Tri-Cities, for these people to call home” before next winter.

Coun. Fin Donnelly said it is “embarrassing” the issue of homelessness has been left to “this point,” and blamed senior levels of government for not dealing with it years ago.

Coun. Barrie Lynch stressed RCMP findings that there are no links between homelessness and crime, and said that although concerns and fears of neighbours are valid, they are often not supported by facts.

“I am of the belief that ignoring this is not an option,” he said.

Coun. Doug Macdonell, a former Mountie, said he feels “sad” some people have nowhere to go in his community and noted the homeless “are not the people you think they are.”

“I think the only thing that’s really going to validate this program is time,” he said.

Coun. Brent Asmundson urged residents to write to their MLAs and MPs to call for more affordable housing, which he called the solution to homelessness, not permanent shelters.

Dozens of people packed the gallery to hear the results of the rezoning application, some holding signs that said “Vote No” or “Vote No To Bylaw, Vote Yes To Permanent Solution.” Last month, about 300 turned up to a public hearing to speak about the plans.

The Hope For Freedom Society asked the three Tri-City municipalities to rezone a number of churches to facilitate its Cold Wet Weather Mat Program, which would province 30 beds a night at the churches on a rotating basis. Port Coquitlam council voted unanimously to rezone Northside Foursquare church, which is hosting the mat program this month. Port Moody is expected to review its application in January.

The mat program would operate seven nights a week, from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m., beginning Dec. 1 this year and ending March 1, 2008. Next year, it could run from Oct. 15, 2008 until March 31, 2009 but Coquitlam Mayor Maxine Wilson hinted provincial funding may be available for a permanent shelter before then.

lgerrits@tricitynews.com

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