Burnaby mayor Derek Corrigan is taking issue with Housing Minister Rich Coleman's comments regarding a piece of B.C. Housing property for sale in the Edmonds neighbourhood.
In a March 27 article in the NOW, local MLA Raj Chouhan raised concerns that B.C. Housing was selling the property to balance the budget instead of building much-needed affordable housing. Meanwhile, Corrigan characterized the sale as hypocritical, stating that the province wants land from the City of Burnaby for social housing yet is selling its own property on the open market.
The province owns the 19,000-squarefoot lot at the corner of 18th Avenue and Sixth Street, which went up for sale in January. The property is part of a larger plot that was split, and B.C. Housing used the other half for Liberty Place, an independent living facility that opened in 2008.
In an emailed response from B.C. Housing, Coleman stated that "the City of Burnaby advised that they would not permit another social housing project on the property," something Corrigan contests.
"That man is so fast and loose with the truth, I think he just makes it up as he goes along. I think he's in desperation mode because he's been caught with his pants down on this one," Corrigan said.
The province asked the City of Burnaby to rezone the land, Corrigan said.
"B.C. Housing had indicated there was phase one and phase two. We fully expected that they would apply for phase 2. Instead, they held that property for seven years and haven't done anything, and now they are selling it on the open market for $2 million, and Rich Coleman realizes how hypocritical that looks, to be asking us for property and at the same time to be selling property they already hold on the open market. So he's trying to blame us," Corrigan said. "We believed phase two meant that they would be doing a second project, not that they would be selling the property.
"We've gone through so many projects with Coleman and his gang, in which they take us down the garden path and then cancel the project over and over again," he added.
Coleman, on the other hand, maintained that it was the City of Burnaby that did not want more social housing at the Edmonds site.
"(Corrigan) obviously isn't paying attention to what's going on around him," Coleman told the NOW. "We developed 20 units on there for Community Living
B.C., and after we were done that, we said to the city, 'We're happy to do another project down there for social housing.' They are the ones that told us no. They did not want another social housing project on this site, they wanted it to go to market housing, and so frankly, we are taking it to the market because that's what the city asked for.
"It's just the typical thing that comes from this mayor. He says he's supportive, but this guy's never stepped up to the plate like other municipalities have for things like development cost charges and coming up with any land at all for municipal benefit," Coleman said, adding there was "no sense" in holding onto a piece of land B.C. Housing can't use for its mandate, so the province will sell it and invest the money in another community.
"It's a very typical Burnaby issue. The mayor doesn't support supportive housing in his community with anything except to say the province should pay for it all. All around him - in New Westminster, Coquitlam, Vancouver, Richmond - municipalities are working with us to buy land, change densities, find abilities to deal with some of the social issues in the communities. Your mayor happens to believe they should not participate," Coleman said. "The reality is the people of Burnaby are paying higher property taxes because of the pressure of not dealing with these social issues in the community, with policing and other agencies in your community. You have, in Burnaby, a very good group of people that like to have proper shelter for people so they can take care of the most disenfranchised in that community where they can't get the support of the mayor." [email protected]
