One day after BC Housing announced the first of two locations for a tiny home community in Kelowna to shelter those experiencing homelessness, business owners in the area are pleading with the city to ensure the site is managed properly.
“I would like to hear a little bit further on how the city plans on maintaining the site, how the infrastructure of possible security is going to be involved,” said Keith Dyck, owner of Okanagan Street Food.
“There is concerns with other businesses on Crowley that there could be problems.”
The 60 tiny homes will be situated on a parcel of city-owned land along Crowley Avenue in the city’s north end, a largely an industrial area.
The site is across the Okanagan Rail Trail and the existing city-designated outdoor sheltering site, often referred to as tent city.
“There’s often RCMP on site. There’s always Bylaw on site. There’s always some issues over there and it is going to be moving closer to our front door,” said Dyck.
And while he anticipates some loss in business as a result of the newly designated tiny home development, he still supports it.
“We’re advocates for the homeless. We’re definitely on their side,” Dyck said.
Dyck, like other business operators in the area, also said that he would have liked the city to at least do some public consultation prior to choosing and announcing the location.
But business owners found out about it only hours before BC Housing publicly announced it.
“A little bit stunned,” said Corinne Herman, who works at Engel Electric when asked what her reaction was to the find out the news.
Herman pointed to the city’s website that states the land is zoned for industrial use, not residential, as a reason for being caught off guard.
“General industrial use, outdoor storage, recycling and warehousing, what part of that is people living there,” she said.
And while she too believes the homeless population needs more services, she believes the area is taking the brunt of the homelessness problem.
“We already have the rail trail a block away which is right next door to where they want to do this and there’s 200 people I’ve heard living along the rail trail,” Herman said.
Kelowna mayor Tom Dyas said he believes the tiny home community will provide warmth and shelter to 60 people currently on the streets along with a number of amenities and services on site.
“They could look at obtaining mental health services, obtain assistance with regards to their addictions, have a place that would maybe now look at establishing allowing them to obtain employments,” Dyas told Global News.
The concept is modelled after the first tiny home community in Duncan, on Vancouver Island.
“I know that there is a lot of concern with regards to this may or may not be the solution for the community but we need to look at programs or initiatives or ideas that are outside of the box and this one is outside of the box,” said Dyas.
Dyas believes the site will be beneficial for both the residents and the community at large.
“I know that what is currently in the neighbourhood with the outdoor sheltering that is there. I believe this is a much better alternative and the effect on the neighbourhood will be a lot better than you know what is in place at this particular point in time,” Dyas said.
BC Housing said a service provider has not yet been selected but whichever one it is will have staff on site 24-7.
While the government agency is aiming to have the tiny home community up and running in early 2024, the city’s mayor is hoping it’s ready sooner than that.
“If I had my wish list, it would be before the end of the year. So you know we’re looking at the month of December that the site is pre-prepped, the homes arrive and we start setting them up in that timeframe,” Dyas said.
A second location for a similar development is in the works but both BC Housing and the city have not said where or when it will be created.