There has been a fair amount of debate on the proposed transitional housing project in the neighborhood across John Street adjacent to ours. When the project was initially proposed, my wife and I were fine with it but as the issue has progressed we have come to the conclusion that if it goes ahead, it needs to return to what was originally proposed in terms of both scale and scope. So, the following was sent today via email to the Mayor and Council of the City of Thunder Bay.
Dear Thunder Bay City
Councillors:
We are writing to
express our concerns regarding the proposed transitional housing project at 105
Junot. This has become a
difficult issue to discuss as any criticism of the project immediately seems to
lead to one being labelled as insensitive or worse. Yet, this is not a
constructive way to counter appropriately voiced concerns as there are
legitimate issues regarding the project. While there is an urgent need in
Thunder Bay for additional shelter and transitional housing for the homeless
and those with mental health and addiction issues, what is being proposed
requires more thought. The time for reflection on the project is now,
given that the land required apparently needs a zoning change to allow the
multi-unit transitional residence to be constructed.
The original proposal was for a 20-bed
unit but the scale of the
project has nearly tripled to 58 beds. If
this project had stayed at 20-beds, we would not be writing this letter. The purpose of transitional housing is
temporary assistance for those who are homeless and have addictions and
provides an environment with support on a scale that facilitates individual
attention. For example, a
recently funded 9-bed transitional housing project in Kitchener will
provide 24-hour on site medical and healing supports and services. In Sioux Lookout, a
20-unit transitional
housing development opened last year. In
Thunder Bay, the announced Lodge
on Dawson is 30 beds with staff on-site 24-hours, 7 days
per week providing services and supports.
We have a real concern
that once the project obtains the rezoning, the scale of the expanded project
may be increased yet again. What
is to prevent a project that has already tripled in size to not double or
triple yet again? This is
no longer community scale supportive transitional housing but a multi-unit
residential project being placed in a neighbourhood that is composed of lower
density housing and major institutions including several schools. Moreover, we are still not aware
as to the exact details on the types of counselling, services, staffing and
supports that will be offered for residents. The is effectively a large
multi-unit apartment project and should really be placed in a denser area such
as a downtown core where the homeless and addiction problems are quite
obviously severe, there are nearby services being provided for the homeless and
the current density of functions and activities better reflects what now seems
to be a large apartment complex.
If there is a need
to rezone the land for the proposed project, that means the land was not
originally zoned for a large multi-unit residential structure. The City of Thunder Bay’s
planning department wanting denser
utilization– hence the increase in scale by the proponents after the original proposal – has stoked
this issue. The original
zoning is part of an established land use plan approved by the City of Thunder
Bay after a formal process of planning and consultation. A need for the zoning change means
that this is an ad hoc change and not part of a longer-term plan and requires a
more formal process of consultation. Simply having a convenient piece of
land available that the City of Thunder Bay desires to build density on without
long term planning or consultation is not the best reason for building such a
large facility.
Rushing to rezone
a piece of land for a project that appears to be very fluid in both scale and
scope of purpose is not good policy and not wise long-term decision
making.
Sincerely,
Livio and Rosanna Di Matteo
Thunder Bay, Ontario