There is no way Burnaby can support a transitional supported housing project at the 401 Motor Inn at 2950 Boundary Rd. if there is no funding lined up, Mayor Derek Corrigan said at last night's council meeting.
The city's director of planning and building, Basil Luksun, said B.C. Housing sent the city an email on May 24 stating there is no funding available for the project.
"B.C. Housing have had discussions with the Lookout Society and Portland Hotel Society and have advised them of their inability to fund the project," he told council.
"If funding is unavailable, it's likely we're unable to proceed," he added.
Corrigan told two delegations that had come to speak on the issue that they could still do so, but should probably tailor their presentations according to the latest funding information.
Wanda Mulholland, community development coordinator for the Burnaby Task Force on Homelessness, said the local Progressive Housing and Lookout societies are aware of the funding issue but have been communicating with Burnaby North MLA Richard Lee, who agreed to speak with Rich Coleman, the B.C. minister responsible for housing.
The minister has requested that the proposal for the project be sent directly to him, as well as B.C. Housing, Mulholland said.
"We're hopeful that Minister Coleman would reassess the proposal," she added.
Ruth Topolnicky, strata president for a building on Manor Street, also spoke to council regarding the proposed project.
She and other neighbourhood residents are concerned that transitional housing would create more problems in the area, she said.
"I understand (affordable) housing can stabilize a neighbourhood, but I also understand it can destabilize it," Topolnicky said.
Of particular concern, she said, is the current crime problem in the area.
She noted residents have seen people doing and dealing drugs in the neighbourhood, there have been break-ins, and stolen cars have been abandoned in the area.
The neighbourhood is improving, with more retail stores opening, but it is still a worrisome situation, she added.
If the transitional housing project were to shut down due to funding glitches or other problems, where would the people housed there go? Topolnicky asked.
Corrigan and council thanked the delegations for their comments, and thanked staff for returning to council with a report on the proposed project.
But Corrigan pointed out that council's primary requirement for supporting the project is not in place - namely, funding.
But mayor and council said the requirements laid out in the new staff report on the proposal could be of use to any organizations approaching the city about affordable housing projects.
Primary requirements listed in the report - aside from securing funding from other levels of government - were that affordable housing projects be transitional, with occupants staying up to two years, and that it primarily be for Burnaby's homeless or those in the city at risk of being homeless.
The idea for the 401 Motor Inn project was first pitched to council two weeks ago by Vancouver's Portland Hotel Society.
But the timeline for the project was tight, Dan Small, a director with the society told council.
The society had been working with the owner, Shakil Adam, to secure support and funding for the project within one to two months, according to Small.
"It requires a lease to save it," Small said of the space, adding if action isn't taken soon, "the reality is, it's going to be lost."
The family, which also owns Bosman's Motor Inn in downtown Vancouver and has leased it to the society for a pilot project for the past two years, plans to convert the 401 Motor Inn into a boutique hotel if the project doesn't go forward, he said.
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