Ark Aid Street Mission in London, Ont., will be allowed to continue offering its day services temporarily at First Baptist Church after the city dropped a zoning infraction order against the church.
Speaking with Global News on Friday, Sarah Campbell, Ark Aid’s executive director, said she was relieved to learn of the city’s decision.
“It’s not just about Ark Aid and what we do, it’s about faith communities and congregations and places with missions related to serving the poor and helping others as part of their religious practices, that was also under attack,” she said.
“It wasn’t just about meeting our compliance, it was actually about the permission of a place of worship to be doing this kind of work … whether it’s in the core or throughout our city.”
The dispute began when the city notified First Baptist in September that the drop-in day services being offered by Ark Aid, including meals, laundry, showers, health-care services, and more, were in violation of its zoning designation as a place of worship.
First Baptist has been allowing Ark Aid to provide its day programs and services out of its basement since April as renovation work continues on the mission’s Old East Village building, set to finish in the spring.
City officials said at the time that they had received complaints from neighbours about the services being delivered, and said that because the mission was providing them as a separate entity, they weren’t operating as a place of worship but rather as an assembly hall, which wasn’t a permitted use under the zoning.
Three options were provided by the city: that the church be given control of the drop-in services, that the church pursue a zoning amendment, or that the church request Ark Aid relocate elsewhere. The church was given until Oct. 4 to respond to the infraction order.
The city’s decision prompted push-back, including from other faith leaders who worried what the zoning infraction could mean for other places of worship who provide similar services. The city later extended its deadline to Oct. 20.
An online petition opposing the order, launched by Rev. Kevin George of St. Aidan’s Anglican and Rev. Dr. Joshua Lawrence of First-St. Andrew’s United, garnered nearly 2,100 signatures.
Proponents argued that the work the mission was conducting at the church did fall within the zoning rules for a place of worship, something Campbell says the city later agreed with.
“We were able to submit all of that information, and the city told us last Friday that they see it the same way,” Campbell said. “So that was the final note that we needed to continue our services at First Baptist Church under the current zoning.”
In a statement Friday, the city said it had worked with the church and Ark Aid to find a resolution in regards to “a specific complaint regarding zoning of the property.”
“The municipal compliance service area has a duty to respond to complaints. The City worked with First Baptist Church and offered options and extensions, and no enforcement action was taken. The municipal compliance file is now closed.”
The city’s chief bylaw enforcement officer, Orest Katolyk, was not available for comment on Thursday.
Campbell described the talks with the city as constructive, and said she was glad that a resolution was ultimately reached and that they will be able to continue offering their services into the winter months.
“I think it’s just a matter of when a complaint is made about the services that we provide, the city does feel compelled to take some kind of action,” she said.
“And it seems that this might have just been the only action they could take to demonstrate to those who had concerns about our services being in the core that they were trying to resolve their concerns.”
Campbell adds that Ark Aid is working with other community partners and the city to develop London’s winter response plan, and make sure that there is enough indoor space for those who are unhoused.
“We’re hopeful that we will utilize First Baptist and all of the assets that our community can bring to bear, and that will include other church locations, the Ark location on Dundas Street — even though our construction is not done, what part can we share?”
At least 6,230 people and families were on the city’s waitlist for social housing as of Sept. 1, while 2,241 people were experiencing homelessness, according to the London Community Foundation, citing municipal figures.
— with files from Global News’ Andrew Graham, Devon Peacock and Amy Simon