Victoria hopes problems of loitering and illegal camping on a strip of boulevard near the Rock Bay Landing shelter can be stemmed by turning it into a community garden.
But at least one city councillor worries that the city shouldn’t be landscaping simply as a means to “move along” the poor who have nowhere else to go.
Victoria councillors gave their blessing Thursday to an agreement between the Victoria Cool Aid Society (which runs the shelter), Lifecycles Project Society, the Burnside Gorge Community Association and Chew Excavating Ltd. to collaborate on the construction and maintenance of a garden in a narrow strip of land adjacent to the sidewalk in the 500 block of Ellice Street, across the street from the shelter.
In the warm summer months, the area has become a problem with people camping under tents and tarps or just hanging out making noise and using drugs. Police calls are not uncommon and personal belongings and litter are often strewn along the street.
“Many of the people who camp there are people who don’t even use Cool Aid or are banned from Cool Aid or who are preying on the people that use Cool Aid,” said Coun. Charlayne Thornton-Joe, council liaison to the Burnside Gorge neighbourhood.
The concept of the community garden came about over the past year through regular neighbourhood meetings held as part of the good-neighbour agreement struck when the city gave up a park for use as a shelter site, Thornton-Joe said.
The hope is the creation of the community garden will not only beautify the area, but be an exercise in community-building for the clients of Rock Bay and their families, and help alleviate the problem of people congregating in the area. The city won’t be responsible for any of the estimated $17,600 cost of the project, which is being picked up by the partners.
The garden will be separated into four sections determined by the width and slope of the boulevard. The intention is to plant a variety of small to medium “spiky” shrubs in the area where people congregate.
Coun. Ben Isitt supported the project, but said the city shouldn’t be moving people off the only green space in the area until it has fulfilled its commitment to replace the park that was given up for Rock Bay Landing in the first place.
“I think the most fair approach would be for the city to be proactive and identify where that substitute green space is. If it’s not on this sunny slope, then the question is, where is it? I, personally, don’t have any interest in removing that gathering spot until we have identified where the alternate gathering spot is,” Isitt said.
“It’s sort of a little bit disingenuous to say we’re still looking for land when the real intent seems to be shuffling these people along.”
But Thornton-Joe said good-neighbour agreements have to be adhered to if the city expects neighbourhoods to accept social services.
“I have to be able to stand up and say: homeless shelters, supportive housing, food bank areas have to be able to be in every neighbourhood in every municipality,” she said. “But to be able to say that, I also have be able to say it will not be a negative impact to your neighbourhood.”
