Charlottetown council votes against letting shelter and outreach centre stay on Park Street
Housing minister had previously vowed the provincial services wouldn’t be moved
Charlottetown's council has voted to reject the P.E.I. government's application to keep its emergency overnight shelter and Community Outreach Centre operating at their current location.
During a special council meeting on Tuesday night, city councillors voted 8-2 to reject the province's request for a zoning change to cover the operations on Park Street in Charlottetown. Approving it would have allowed both services to remain in the area indefinitely, although the province had previously insisted the location would be temporary.
The timeline for what happens next is unclear. Housing, Land and Communities Minister Steven Myers had previously suggested the province would find a way to fight or nullify a city vote on the matter.
"My vote was based on… land use and community impact," says Deputy Mayor Alanna Jankov, who voted against letting the services continue at the Park Street site.
"Wasn't an easy decision, not at all, and I can only hope we can continue building that relationship and working collaboratively with the province on what we can do as the City of Charlottetown to help facilitate and find areas [where] these services can be serviced in our community."
The province was asking the city to amend its Eastern Gateway Project master plan, the city's official plan, and Charlottetown's zoning and development bylaw to allow the two services to continue operating.
The overnight shelter was set up to provide safe housing for people who didn't have a place to stay, operating seven days a week between the hours of 8 p.m. and 8 a.m. The outreach centre is designed to serve people dealing with mental health issues, coping with issues that accompany homelessness, and struggling to get back on their feet.
If they don't comply, then they get an order. Then from here it's court; it's the same process for any applicant.— Deputy Mayor Alanna Jankov
"It's a difficult social struggle we are having right now with mental health and addictions," Jankov acknowledged.
But the city has spent $16 million to implement the Eastern Gateway Project in the last year or so, she went on to point out. Water and Grafton streets were realigned, and the intersection at the Hillsborough Bridge was reworked, to let the part of the city that includes the Park Street area become a hub of new development focused on the waterfront near the Hillsborough River.
Expires end of month
The temporary zoning variance allowing the outreach centre to operate at Park Street will expire by the end of March, while the variance that let the emergency shelter keep running expired in December 2024.
"They'll no longer be adhering to an existing bylaw, so that will be something the provincial staff and city staff will work on, when that process will begin," Jankov said, adding there is usually a 30-day grace period.
"If they don't comply, then they get an order. Then from here it's court; it's the same process for any applicant," she said.
The province has 21 days to appeal the decision to the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission, according to Jankov.
Late last year, Myers stated that no matter what council decided, the shelter and outreach centre would stay at Park Street. Speaking in the legislature Wednesday afternoon, Myers said he stands by those comments and he's proud of the work done there.
"The people who shouldn't be proud, Mr. Speaker, are the people who voted against the vulnerable population last night and those in this chamber that support those efforts."
After city staff recommended denying the province's application in February, Myers wrote to express his disappointment with the decision. His letter noted that before the 50-bed shelter opened, Charlottetown had struggled to deal with a large encampment that had sprung up at the event grounds near the western end of the Hillsborough Bridge.
The emergency shelter had a usage rate of 97 per cent in January, according to the province's website that tracks shelter use across the Island.
2 votes in favour of services staying
Terry Bernard and John McAleer were the two councillors who voted on Tuesday night to keep the services in place, despite neighbours' complaints about disruptions near the site that included loitering and property damage. On top of that, Coun. Mitch Tweel has long talked about problems related to people using drugs in nearby Joe Ghiz Park.
"My understanding is [that] inside the fenced area, the people that need help are getting that help and they are recovering. It's outside the fence where issues seem to be," Bernard said.
"It's difficult because you don't want to see residents go through what some of them are going through, with their quality of life and the changes. At the same time, to say no to this — what happens? Where do they go? [Do] encampments start up again?
"The police are saying this is going to be much more difficult for them to police," Bernard said.
People concerned about the Park Street location of the services filled the council chamber on Tuesday night, driving home their past statements about feeling unsafe in their own neighbourhood. Complaints were similar when the Community Outreach Centre was located on Euston Street, before it was moved to Park Street in 2024.
"I've been dealing with the file for the last two years, and I have been very close to the residents in and around that area and I have heard first-hand... the challenges that are being faced down there," said Coun. Justin Muttart, who represents Ward 2, which includes Park Street.
"People feel that their safety is in jeopardy. They also feel their quality of life has diminished."
Businesses 'don't want to deal with it'
Muttart said he has also heard from business owners in the area who have had to invest in cameras and other security measures, adding that some say they are losing business because of being located near the shelter and outreach centre.
"They don't want to deal with it any more — or they don't know how to deal with it, in most cases — and they are trying their very best," he said.
I think the alternative here is to look for locations which are less invasive around residential areas and schools and parks, and allow these services to continue.— Coun. Justin Muttart
"The decision around this was not based on whether or not the services are needed," Muttart added. "That's not up for debate here.
"But... when they are embedded in residential areas around businesses, schools, parks, they bring a new set of challenges people are not ready to deal with."
As for what the Park Street area should be used for, the Eastern Gateway master plan suggests a multi-use sports facility could go in the area. That's something Muttart would support, he said.
The residents he represents aren't against providing services to those facing homelessness, Muttart said; they just don't believe the services should be offered in residential areas.
"I think the alternative here is to look for locations which are less invasive around residential areas and schools and parks and allow these services to continue," he said.
Premier Rob Lantz says the long-term plan is to decentralize these services so that they'll eventually be spread around the city and the province. He said that's always been in the works and the plan hasn't changed based on the city's decision.
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