The site of a future supportive housing project is going to the dogs – but it’s only temporary.
On Monday, council approved in principle the temporary relocation of the downtown dog off-leash area (OLA) at 824 Agnes St. to 68 Sixth St. The dog park has to depart its current location in September, as the site is being redeveloped.
Some council members expressed concern that allowing a temporary dog off-leash area at 68 Sixth St., where a supportive housing project has been approved, could send the “mixed messaging” to BC Housing about its support for the housing project.
“I just feel like we've been waiting a long time for that project to move forward,” said Coun. Ruby Campbell.
In December 2021, city council supported a 52-unit supportive housing project at 60 to 68 Sixth St. At that time, the modular housing project was expected to open in late 2023, but the site remains vacant.
Lynn Roxburgh, the city’s supervisor of land use policy planning, said staff agree there’s an urgent need for the housing project and the city wants to see it built as soon as possible.
“BC Housing has assured us that they are working hard on the application process. But the reality is that we're still waiting for them to submit both their special development permit and their building permit files,” she said. “And so, once we get that, even if we make it the top priority project, we know it's going to take us time to process and do our proper due diligence on the application.”
Roxburgh said the site will remain vacant while the city is processing those applications, so the climate action, planning and development department supports the proposal from the parks and recreation department.
“When it's time for shovels in the ground, there's an expectation that this temporary dog park is relocated, and we'll be able to move forward as planned with our schedule,” she said.
The city knew the temporary dog off-leash park would have to be relocated away from the property at 824 Agnes St. when it was redeveloped, but that’s happening sooner than anticipated, said a staff report. The developer has asked that the off-leash area be closed by Sept. 29 to accommodate demolition, construction staging, and other construction activities needed to support the new 810 Agnes St. development.
Six out of seven property owners of vacant and/or underutilized sites in the downtown neighbourhood who were contacted by the city declined a request for allowing an off-leash area as a temporary use – with only the Provincial Rental Housing Corporation being supportive, said the report.
“As part of this agreement, the city would agree to close the interim dog OLA and vacate the site prior to issuance of a building permits so as to not delay the construction of the planned supportive housing development at this site,” said the report. “Staff from BC Housing and the City of New Westminster will continue to advance the special development permit and a building permit plans for the housing project, and the temporary location of the OLA will not impact the construction timeline of the development.”
The Provincial Rental Housing Corporation has agreed to enter into a licensing agreement with the city that would allow an off-leash area to operate on the site from September 2023 to June 2024.
Erika Mashig, the city’s manager of parks and open space planning, design and construction, said the draft licensing agreement can be ended earlier, as needed.
“This is a stop-gap. We're having to vacate the 824 Agnes site sooner than expected, so this is really helping us out in this interim period,” she said. “Staff are already working on finding other, either vacant land underutilized lands and/or city owned lands for a permanent off-leash dog area.”
In a 5-0 vote, council unanimously approved in principle the relocation of the off-leash area. Councillors Paul Minhas and Nadine Nakagawa recused themselves from the discussion because they live in the area.
Staff will provide council with a draft licensing agreement for their consideration at the Sept. 11 meeting, will begin preparing the Sixth Street site to meet the city’s standards as a dog off-leash area and will continue working on plans for a permanent off-leash spaces in the downtown.
Mayor Patrick Johnstone said he was convinced by staff that this proposal would not delay the construction of the desperately needed housing that’s planned at this location.
“We recognize the desperate need for even a temporary dog run downtown while we get a more permanent solution built,” he said, “so I appreciate the flexibility the staff is showing on this on getting at least something in place; something is better than nothing. I appreciate the creativity that has been found.”
