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Edmonton city council has given Hope Mission permission to rezone its building near Argyll Road and 75th Street, allowing for a new 24/7 homeless shelter with 120 beds.
Councillors voted unanimously on the Christian non-profit’s rezoning proposal on Tuesday afternoon after listening to concerns from people with ties to the area.
Ward pihêsiwin Coun. Mike Elliott said he struggled with making a decision but ultimately believed the benefits of the facility outweighed the disadvantages.
“I struggle with this because I would not like to see another shelter built in our city, however, that’s not the reality here that we’re facing today,” he said during the meeting.
Hope Mission has said there is a critical need for shelter spaces on the city’s south side and that it is trying to decentralize support services by opening spaces outside downtown. Council heard the new shelter will provide transportation, meals and other social services to clients.
A public hearing began earlier this month and continued on Tuesday, with most speakers arguing in opposition of the rezoning.
Josh Powell with Loadrite, a business near Hope Mission’s south-side building, told council earlier this month that he supports the shelter because there are already homeless people nearby.
“I just see a need for it in the area,” he said.
Opponents said they worried a permanent shelter would bring more problems to the area and told councillors they did not believe an industrial location was a good fit for a homeless shelter.
“We’re concerned about their mental health and providing those facilities to them, but we’re more concerned about safety of associates and safety of our guests,” Paramvir Peter Parmar of RKS Hotels Group said at the hearing on Tuesday. RKS Hotels Group owns the Four Points by Sheraton hotel at Argyll Road and 75th Street.
Chantel Sepulveda, who owns a hoisting equipment repair and maintenance business in the area, said she is concerned about increased social disorder, her own safety and the potential impact on her business’ property value.
“The city and the Hope Mission are, yes, trying to do a good thing by making this available to people, but it’s at the expense of other people,” she told CBC News in an interview on Tuesday.
Chantel Sepulveda said she has concerns about safety and crime if a Hope Mission shelter opens near her business in south Edmonton. (Madeleine Cummings/CBC)
Hope Mission had to apply to rezone its property from the medium industrial zone, where shelters are not permitted, to the business employment zone, which allows for community services like shelters.
In her closing comments, Coun. Erin Rutherford said that while she does not think industrial areas are appropriate for homeless shelters, council has collectively decided multiple times — after debate — that it is an appropriate use.
Mayor Andrew Knack urged speakers with concerns about homelessness, mental health and addiction to contact the provincial government since those issues fall under its authority, not the city’s.
Brenton Driedger, spokesperson for Hope Mission, told CBC News the charity is grateful to hear the news of the rezoning approval, calling it “an important first step” toward the goal of helping more Edmontonians.
He said the charity will still need to go through the development permit and building permit processes before the shelter can open to clients.