qathet Regional Hospital District board is directing staff to bring back a report on the definitions of nuisance, hazardous substances and permitted uses, within the lease agreement at the supportive housing facility at 4910 Joyce Avenue.
The motion from the board members also included staff reporting on options to ensure compliance from the tenant, which is BC Housing.
At the August 26 hospital board meeting, directors were to consider a motion directing staff to bring back a report on nuisance, but earlier in the meeting, Westview Ratepayers Society (WRS) urged the board to also include hazardous substances and permitted uses in the motion.
“Specifically, we ask that the staff report address not only nuisance, but also hazardous substances and permitted uses,” said WRS supportive housing subcommittee representative Sherry Burton.
Electoral Area A director Jason Lennox, who brought the original motion to the board, said he’d like to withdraw the motion and make a new motion with the two additions.
Corporate office Michelle Jones said if the desire was to go beyond the scope of the original motion, it would be beneficial to know what the new motion would look like. Lennox said the original intent of the motion was that the term nuisance would encompass hazardous substances and permitted uses. He said if the motion needed to be withdrawn and resubmitted, he was fine with that because there is not major time pressure to get it done immediately.
“It’s obvious the concerns of the community are very much in the forefront,” said Lennox.
Jones said the two extra items could be added to original motion. Electoral Area B director and hospital board chair Mark Gisborne said he was thinking along the same wavelength.
“When I first read the notice of motion, I noted the concern is in relation to the lease and the activities at 4910 Joyce Avenue, so that’s what in my head,” said Gisborne. “I put it to the assembly – would we like to have a slightly altered motion that is consistent with the intent of the notice of motion?”
There was agreement among board members, noted Gisborne.
Lennox put forward an amended motion, including hazardous substances and permitted uses to be studied by staff. He said the board was trying to proactively take action on impacts to the community from the facility in question.
Gisborne said he presumed, if the motion passes, that there will be a lawyer somewhere being asked some difficult questions.
“I believe that the province’s guidelines should also be looked into around permitted uses,” he added.
Gisborne said he has discussed the topic of supportive housing with elected officials from other areas and the first question he is asked is: "why is the hospital district involved with this? He the has to explain that the hospital district is the landowner.
“In the end, this is a good motion because it will come back with some clear answers for us as a board regarding what our position is,” said Gisborne. “The regional hospital board is predominantly focused on providing capital funding for health-care facilities, but in this situation, we are the landowner, and we have a lease agreement. If this motion passes, then we’ll get some answers from our staff.”
The motion for staff to bring back a report on the definitions of nuisance, hazardous substances and permitted uses within the lease agreement for the 4910 Joyce Avenue supportive housing facility carried unanimously.
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