Emotions are running high in a Kelowna neighbourhood where some residents are strongly opposed to a rezoning application that goes before city council Tuesday.
The building up for rezoning is located at the corner McCurdy Road and Rutland Road North.
There are plans of turning it into a transition house for up to 50 men recovering from drug and alcohol addiction.
The man spearheading the facility is Tom Smithwick. He understands where the concerned residents are coming from, but said his organization’s track-record speaks for itself.
“We’ve operated in two single family neighbourhoods over this 15 year period and there has not been ill-effect on the neighbourhood,” Smithwick of Freedom’s Door said.
Local resident Sue Allan said putting a recovery house next to schools is asking for trouble.
“There’s two schools right here. There’s the YMCA where the kids are. My grandchildren’s mother is homeless. She’s a drug addict on the street. I do believe we need more of these places but not in a school district,” she said.
For Sue MacLeod, the facility would be located right next door. She said the idea of a recovery home next to her sends shivers down her spine.
“As a female, I’m terrified of this,” she said.
- Three B.C. men fined, banned from hunting after killing pregnant deer
- B.C. child-killer’s attempt to keep new identity secret draws widespread outrage
- Inquest hears B.C. hostage was lying on her captor before fatal shooting
- ‘We’ve had to make a 180’: What Oregonians say they got wrong with decriminalization
Smithwick said his organization has tried to alleviate MacLeod’s concerns including changing the building’s design.
“She was concerned about windows looking onto her property, we’ve removed all of the windows on the north side of the building on the second, third and fourth floor,” he said. “She was concerned about the height of the building, so what we’ve done is cut back the fourth floor. So for her, there’s only three floors. In other words, we’ve tried to respect her concerns and her needs.”
But no words or modifications can comfort MacLeod. She said if the facility goes up beside her, she’ll have to sell her heritage home at a loss with nowhere to turn.
“Where am I going to go? What am I going to do with that much less money in this market in Kelowna?”
Comments