Neighbours in the area of Rutland Road and McCurdy Road in Kelowna are banding together in opposition of a proposed apartment building planned for the corner lot.
Freedom House would offer long-term housing for recovering alcohol and drug-addicted men who’ve completed their rehabilitation programs.
“Everybody’s worried that crime is going to increase and the noise and the traffic,” Gerald Hartley, who is starting a petition against the development said.
“After being on the police force for 25 years, I can see what problems it may cause,” another area resident,Don Urquhart, said.
While the neighbours say they support long-term housing options for people who are in recovery, they don’t believe their neighbourhood is the place for it.
“We’re going to have all kinds of strangers walking around. We have a park here that the kids play in and everybody walks dogs in – it’s going to be a hangout centre,” neighbour Pat Howden said. “On top of all that, our property values are going to go way down. I’ve talked to several real estate people and that’s what they told me.”
In order for Freedom House to be built, the city must approve a zoning change. That’s also a point of concern for some neighbours.
“It certainly doesn’t fit in with an area that’s RU1 and RU2, single family homes and one and two storeys,” Sue MacLeod said.
Tom Smithwick is one of the directors of Freedom’s Door, the non-profit organization that’s proposing the dry apartment complex. He says he understands that there is opposition to the plans.
“It’s not surprising when you make a change in a neighbourhood by building an apartment, there are always people who are going to be concerned,” Smithwick said.
Smithwick says the building, like Freedom’s Door’s other residential properties,will be managed 24/7.
Residents will have a curfew and there will be zero tolerance for drug or alcohol use or any kind of bad behaviour.
“We want to be good neighbours and if anyone has complaints, assuming the building is built, they can call us and it will be dealt with immediately,” Smithwick said.
A community meeting has been set up between Freedom’s Door and residents of the Rutland neighbourhood on Apr. 6 at 6:30 at 130 McCurdy Road.
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