COUNCIL APPROVES HOME FOR 30 ADDICTS

Controversial Project Near Fraser And 41st To Proceed Despite
Thousands Of Objections

VANCOUVER - A highly controversial housing facility that will be home
to 30 people with substance abuse and mental health problems was
approved Tuesday by Vancouver city council.

After several heated debates and meetings with residents in the
neighbourhood of Fraser Street and 41st Avenue, council unanimously
decided to approve the project, but agreed to increase staffing,
reduce the number of beds, and improve the consultation process for
similar projects in the future.

"This has been a difficult decision," said Coun. Anne Roberts, who
lives in the neighbourhood. "People had a lot of real concerns."

The city received petitions containing the names of more than 3,100
people strongly opposed to the project and one October public meeting
attracted about 1,000 residents.

Roberts said the changes made to the original proposal were a direct
result of the residents' concerns and should go a fair distance in
alleviating those concerns.

Instead of staffing the facility with only one person overnight, the
proposal now includes two staff members at all times. Also, instead of
the original plan to have 39 people in the home, the proposal now
calls for 30.

"We've been having dialogue with the community since April 2004 and
one of the issues we kept hearing again and again was size," said
Dominic Flanagan, manager of housing with the Vancouver Coastal Health
Authority. The authority and the city will jointly build and operate
the facility, known as the Triage Special Needs Residential Facility.

Flanagan told council he is committed to finding additional funding to
open more beds to make up for the loss of the nine spaces at Triage.

Also in response to the public's concerns, Roberts asked council to
establish a neighbourhood forum "to try to work towards resolving some
of the issues that are key to the community." These include
communication and handling of complaints from residents.

The project is expected to cost about $4 million and will likely open
within the next two years.