Residents of a north Kelowna neighbourhood say they were blindsided by the announcement of a proposed temporary transitional housing development just steps from their front doors.
On Aug. 26 Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon was in Kelowna to unveil that a third 60-unit project for people experiencing homelessness will be built at 3199 Appaloosa Road.
Kelsey McCallen lives a five-minute walk away from the site at Sol Terra Ranch. She and about 40 of her neighbours held an emergency community meeting after reading about the announcement in local media.
乌鸦传媒淚乌鸦传媒檓 actually one of the furthest away from it where I am on Mustang (Court). We have others in the group where it is 100 steps from their front doors.乌鸦传媒�
McCallen said there was no public notice or communication about the housing project from the city or the province.
乌鸦传媒淥ne of our neighbours called a staff manager at the City of Kelowna and she said notifications would be in the mail in the next day or two.乌鸦传媒�
McCallen also said the manager, in the same phone call, said there were 乌鸦传媒渧ery low RCMP calls in our neighbourhood so they thought it would be a good spot for this.乌鸦传媒�
McCallen said people in her neighbourhood look out for one another and there are occasional problems.
乌鸦传媒淟ike most other neighbourhoods in Kelowna, there is obviously going to be some type of crime. Overall, I乌鸦传媒檝e always felt safe in our neighbourhood.乌鸦传媒�
She added that several concerns were raised about the housing project during the community meeting.
乌鸦传媒淪afety of our neighbourhood. Theft, vandalism, increased drug use,乌鸦传媒� McCallen added.
The community has many families with young children, including McCallen乌鸦传媒檚. Nearby is College Heights Mobile Home Park where many seniors live, and several. of McCallen's neighbours rent their basement suites to UBCO students.
乌鸦传媒淗aving this a stone乌鸦传媒檚 throw away is concerning.乌鸦传媒�
Neighbours have contacted the provincial housing ministry, and the city, and emailed the mayor, city councillors and MLAs with their concerns.
乌鸦传媒淲hat we乌鸦传媒檙e also doing is getting the word out to other neighbours. If you didn乌鸦传媒檛 see the articles you wouldn乌鸦传媒檛 know because we haven乌鸦传媒檛 gotten any notification.乌鸦传媒�
McCallen said the neighbourhood has reached out to area businesses, posted on community Facebook pages and started a petition on change.org.
While she and her neighbours are in favour of supportive housing, McCallen said they feel the Appaloosa site in the middle of their community is not the appropriate location.
乌鸦传媒淭he other two supportive housing developments (STEP Place, Trailside) are not that close to people乌鸦传媒檚 homes, they乌鸦传媒檙e more commercial or industrial areas. This one is a hard pill to swallow.乌鸦传媒�
She also noted a lack of amenities in the area such as a medical clinic, grocery store, or pharmacy.
Capital News has contacted the City of Kelowna and B.C. Housing and both have indicated they will provide comments.
The Appaloosa Road, STEP Place and Trailside projects are temporary housing solutions and will be in place for at least three years.
