'It's going to happen,' but not yet: Premier explains pause of Richmond supportive housing project

A planned six-storey, 90-unit supportive housing complex at Cambie and Sexsmith roads in Richmond is no longer going forward. Unless it does. Which it definitely will, but maybe at a different site.

That was the complicated position Premier David Eby laid out Tuesday when asked about his government's recent decision to suspend the project amid criticism from local residents.

"The housing minister made the decision to put this particular project on pause because of concerns that inadequate work had been done with the community to ensure this is the appropriate site, to ensure that all issues in the community have been addressed," Eby said.

"One of the things that we need to do better on is (to) ensure that when we're opening supportive housing in a community, that we have all the pieces in place in advance and not after it opens."

Plans for the city-owned land include private, studio apartments for homeless Richmond residents currently living in two temporary supportive housing buildings at other locations in the city.

Each unit is slated to include a private bathroom and a kitchenette, with the facility also housing a tenant support office, a shared laundry room and bike parking.

Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie told CTV News on Tuesday he feels "an element of frustration" with the province's decision, but he stressed that the project is suspended, not cancelled.

Brodie said the city has received complaints from neighbours of the existing temporary supportive housing facilities, but it's been working with BC Housing on the proposed permanent facility for years, and only recently started hearing more objections to the proposal.

The mayor also noted that the consultation process was ongoing, with BC Housing scheduled to hold meetings with neighbours of the proposed facility this month and next.

"The process was not finished," he said, adding that he wouldn't speculate on whether the B.C. government's decision to pause the project was motivated by the upcoming provincial election.

"I will say that the city has done, I believe, all – and probably more than – you can reasonably expect in this regard," Brodie said. "If BC Housing had to cancel all its consultation meetings and those 1,400 invitations and they're not going through with that process, that's on them."

The premier committed, repeatedly, to ensuring that new permanent supportive housing is built in Richmond, but he also suggested it might not be built at the Cambie Road location.

"We're going to build supportive housing in Richmond," Eby said. "We have two leased sites. The leases are up in 2027. Those have to turn – they're temporary sites – they have to turn into permanent sites. It has to go somewhere in Richmond. It's going to happen. But, we also need to make sure that it's at the right site and it's got the right safeguards in place to minimize impact on neighbours … It may be on the same site, it may be somewhere else, but it will be built."

For Brodie, the proposed location is an ideal one, with access to services and transit that its future residents could use.

"Anywhere that you want to put this – unless you go to a farmer's field or an industrial area – you will have people around it," the mayor said. "So, I say, 'where better is this to be located?'"

The answer to that question seems destined to be the subject of further consultation after the October election.

With files from CTV News Vancouver's Penny Daflos