In a rare move, the Government of British Columbia has announced it will suspend its plans to build a new additional permanent supportive housing building in Richmond.
The announcement was made in a bulletin by BC Minister of Housing Ravi Kahlon late Friday afternoon.
Kahlon emphasizes the project is not cancelled, as the suspension will enable the provincial government to consider other possible locations and perform more public consultation. Through BC Housing, the provincial government has extended the lease for other possible locations to 2027 to provide more time to explore options for sites.
“Addressing the housing crisis and finding solutions for people experiencing homelessness are a priority for our government. However, solutions that help break the cycle of homelessness are complicated and must be done in partnership with the communities and municipalities that make up our great province,” states Kahlon.
“I would like to acknowledge that the Province, through BC Housing, is suspending our work on the proposed new six-storey supportive-housing building at Cambie and Sexsmith roads in Richmond. We remain open to exploring this or other sites as potential locations, but we need to take a step back, hear from the community and re-assess our options. Let me be clear, we’re not hitting pause on our commitment to addressing homelessness in Richmond… We are committed to building supportive housing in Richmond. Moving forward, building community confidence is an important part of that.”
BC Housing had proposed building a permanent six-storey supportive housing building on a now-vacant lot at the northeast corner of the intersection of Cambie Road and Sexsmith Road — located just east of Continental Shopping Centre, Aberdeen Mall, and SkyTrain Aberdeen Station.
Location for permanent supportive housing at 3780 Sexsmith Road, Richmond. (BC Housing)
Location for permanent supportive housing at 3780 Sexsmith Road, Richmond. (BC Housing)
Non-profit housing operator Community Builders would manage and operate 90 supportive housing units, with each unit being a private studio with its own bathroom and kitchenette.
A rezoning application and development permit application were submitted in June 2024, and the City of Richmond were slated to review the rezoning application this fall and winter.
However, the project has seen a significant show of public opposition throughout the summer, including at least one protest that attracted an estimated 500 people and an online petition that has seen nearly 3,800 signatures at the time of writing this article.
The vast majority of the comments on the petition focused on crime and public safety concerns, including those based on the respondents’ experiences with Richmond’s existing supportive housing sites as well as observations from other communities.
It was also highlighted that the proposed Sexsmith Road site is in close proximity to residential neighbourhoods, businesses, a public park, and childcare facilities.
“I used to live on Alderbridge Way. I have now moved partially because of the modular housing issues. I saw how much the community safety got worsen in the past years since the modular house had been built. Condo building got broken in multiple times. Drug user at parking lot. The decision maker is not putting our community’s best interests first,” reads a comment by one of the respondents, referencing the operational challenges with the 2019-built, RainCity Housing-operated temporary modular housing building at 6999 Alderbridge Way, located in a high-density residential area just north of Richmond Hospital.
In November 2023, in a move that saw major public opposition, Richmond City Council approved BC Housing’s request to extend the Alderbridge Way temporary modular housing building’s lease on City-owned land through the end of 2027. At the time of the decision, the lease was set to expire in late 2023; if the lease extension had not been approved, the building would have closed by June 2024.
Another petition respondent wrote, “While I agree supportive housing are needed and perhaps this area is good for people who may live it to access services, I DO NOT agree with how the government completely disregards the safety issues that arise for the surrounding areas and chooses to ignore all the problems that have occurred is past projects.”
Concept for permanent supportive housing at 3780 Sexsmith Road, Richmond. (BC Housing)
Ground level floor plan; concept for permanent supportive housing at 3780 Sexsmith Road, Richmond. (BC Housing)
Other respondents in the petition’s comments section expressed disagreement to the provincial government’s overall approach to supportive housing and overdose prevention sites.
“We know that supportive homes move people indoors and are better for the community overall, minimizing greater community disruption through encampments,” continued Kahlon’s statement.
“This step back gives us an opportunity to explore all options and return to the community with a plan to get their input on.”
Earlier in 2024, there was also fierce public opposition to Vancouver Coastal Health’s proposal to establish a supervised opioid consumption site in Richmond. Previous supportive housing projects in the city also saw opposition.