Some residents living near the soon-to-be opened service hub for unhoused Victorians at 2155 Dowler Place are calling on the City of Victoria to cease building operations.
2155 Dowler Place is owned by SOLID Outreach Society, and was purchased in May with $300,000 provided by the City.
An additional $1.8 million was committed to SOLID in order to make the site a suitable access hub for unhoused individuals who may be dealing with substance-use issues and/or mental illness.
The residents of North Park say that the City has “failed to inspect the violations and enforce the bylaws at this property.”
However, the City says that some of these residents’ claims are unfounded.
The North Park Residents say that the City did not pull permits in accordance with bylaws in regards to the work that has been going on to prepare the space for the services they will be providing.
“Construction has been underway at 2155 Dowler since July; however, no permits have been pulled with the City of Victoria for the work,” wrote the residents in opposition to the services hub.
“Neighbours in the community have filed multiple reports with the city for more than six weeks, asking about the lack of permitting, given evidence of construction waste that includes drywall, plumbing, and insulation and structural work being done.”
They added that the City has confirmed no permits have been pulled, but have not provided an explanation to them as to why.
A City of Victoria spokesperson told Victoria Buzz that for the construction going on at the site, no permits were required because no changes are being made to the external structure.
If an addition to the building was required, permitting processes would have needed to take place, but that is not the case with this property and the work being done.
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Another issue the North Park residents have brought up is that a new fence around the property is not in accordance with the City’s sightline bylaws.
They say the bylaw states that fences at the intersection of two streets shall not be over one metre if they are within a certain distance from the corner of the lot.
Matthew Macatee, a resident of North Park, says in his experience as a contractor City Bylaw Services are usually more thorough than they have been at this site.
“Ask anyone who has had Bylaws or a building inspector visit a project, and they’ll tell you they are thorough and uncompromising,” said Macatee.
“They don’t let contractors and homeowners get away with anything, no matter how minor—and they shouldn’t; bylaws are in place to protect people.
“It’s perplexing why the city is not enforcing bylaws at 2155 Dowler Place. Letting SOLID get away with bylaw contraventions shakes the faith of builders and residents in the city.”
To this, the City told Victoria Buzz that they will be looking into the matter of if the new fence violates any provision of their sightline bylaws.
Residents in the area of 2155 Dowler Place have been pushing back against this project since it was announced.
Their most notable reasons for opposing the project is that no community consultation took place between the nearby residents and the City during the planning process, and that open drug use is likely to occur at the site.
This week, the City of Victoria was supposed to be holding a community meeting to discuss the services hub at 2155 Dowler Place.
This meeting was cancelled one day before it was to take place by the City.
It is being rescheduled for Tuesday, September 24th at 7 p.m., but the venue is yet to be decided.
Mayor Marianne Alto will reportedly be in attendance, as will Josh Montgomery, the firefighter who was suspended for a day without pay for sending an open letter to Premier David Eby opposing the Dowler Place hub.
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