Maple Ridge has asked 269 other municipal councils around B.C. to join in the fight against the province pushing through the Burnett Street temporary supportive housing complex without city approval, saying that the action erodes local autonomy.
Most haven’t yet responded to an April 5 letter from Maple Ridge seeking support of a resolution that asks the city and province to work collaboratively on projects.
The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing announced in March that it will put 51 temporary supportive modular homes on property the government owns at 11749 Burnett St., to clear Anita Place Tent City.
The ministry made the decision after rejecting the city’s social housing plan, which called for adding more units to the existing modular housing location on Royal Crescent, which the ministry considered unsuitable for expansion, in part due to the slope of the site.
The April 5 letter, authorized by Maple Ridge council and signed by Mayor Michael Morden, asks that members of the Union of B.C. Municipalities pass a sample resolution that says the ministry has taken “unilateral action in Maple Ridge that undermines the jurisdiction of the council of the City of Maple Ridge,” to represent the public interest.
The resolution also says the ministry is “setting a dangerous precedent that jeopardizes the autonomy of all local governments …”
City councils are asked to forward the resolution to Premier John Horgan and the Union of B.C. Municipalities.
Morden noted the resolution applies to any project the province might seek to put in a city, from installing a cellphone tower to building a sewage plant.
Local autonomy is a time-honoured tradition in which the city and province work together to deliver the projects that need to be done, Morden said.
“But we do that by working together so we get that buy-in, as well as support and facilitation, which falls to the municipal government to deal with.”
Morden said it will take a few weeks to see what the response will be to the letter.
Mission Mayor Pam Alexis said that her council received it last week, but didn’t comment or act on it.
That city has a strong relationship with all of its housing partners, including MLAs, and is trying to get as much housing as it can to take care of its most-vulnerable population, she said.
Mission already has low-barrier and transitional housing complexes, as well as funding from B.C. Housing for a new 40-bed supportive housing complex, once a location has been identified.
Construction on another 74-bed seniors housing complex in Mission is starting in July, with money from B.C. Housing.
Mission is also looking at more supportive housing in other areas, Alexis said, adding there’s a shortage of rental housing in Mission.
“We have a tremendous need for housing, period. We need every single bit of housing that we can offer, non-market, market. We’re absolutely desperate for that. We’re really interested in working collaboratively with everybody so that we can continue to offer as much as we can.”
Pitt Meadows Mayor Bill Dingwall said council has had a preliminary discussion on the Maple Ridge letter, but hasn’t yet voted on whether to forward the resolution to the premier or UBCM.
Dingwall said that both Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows MLA Lisa Beare and Maple Ridge council are trying to do the right thing, and that the heart of the problem is the fentanyl crisis.
“I think, for us, there clearly needs to be more investment in mental health, in addiction. It’s a combination of those two, also dealing with homelessness,” Dingwall added.
Education, prevention and, where needed, criminal prosecution are needed, he said, as are dialogue and partnerships between all groups.
It could be weeks before the UBCM sees any responses from cities regarding the Maple Ridge letter, said communications director Paul Taylor, adding that so far he’s only heard of Penticton endorsing the resolution.
Cities usually propose their own resolutions at the UBCM convention in September, he added.
“It’s kind of an unusual approach to things. It’s not unheard of, but it’s pretty rare for a municipality to do that around one of the resolutions.”
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