Victoria might fund creation of a community working group in the North Park neighbourhood to address concerns about potential street disorder after a shipping-container community reopened next to Royal Athletic Park.
Formerly known as Tiny Town, Caledonia Place reopened this week on the parking lot next to Royal Athletic Park to house people until at least September 2025. Our Place Society is operating the site, which had closed last fall after two years.
After Tiny Town was created to provide 30 units of temporary housing in April 2021, neighbourhood residents complained of theft from backyards, vandalism and trespassing.
In response to concerns about the site reopening, Coun. Krista Loughton brought forward a motion to Victoria councillors to provide $50,000 to Our Place to establish a community working group made up of Caledonia Place residents, Our Place staff, North Park Neighbourhood Association members and interested neighbours, as well as an advisory committee for Caledonia Place residents.
Councillors approved the motion in a 7-1 vote, with Coun. Marg Gardiner opposed and Coun. Chris Coleman absent. It will need to be ratified in a council meeting and is expected to come before council again on April 4.
Gardiner said she could not support the proposal because the province is funding the facility and the city does not have a hand in running it, so it’s not the city’s role to get involved.
“I don’t understand why the city is even thinking of trying to give direction to Our Place. We should be butting out, not in,” she said.
Loughton said the working group is to support neighbourhood residents to let them know their concerns are being heard and addressed by the city.
If approved, it will be up to the working group to decide on initiatives to curb street disorder and build community, Loughton said.
She proposed several ideas in her motion, including a block-watch program that could be run by Caledonia Place residents, a day-labour program for residents and a peer-to-peer outreach program.
The programs could provide work and income to unhoused community members, which would discourage petty theft, Loughton said.
Julian Daly, chief executive officer at Our Place, said he didn’t want to comment on the matter before it returns to council for ratification, because he didn’t want to sway a vote that could financially benefit Our Place.
Sean Kahil, a board member of the North Park Neighbourhood Association, said it’s great the city is doing something to address the street disorder many neighbours experienced while Tiny Town was open.
He was upset when the province announced it would open a new housing facility on the site, but said he’s feeling hopeful about the prospect of neighbours and new residents of Caledonia Place working together.
North Park residents came together to support an encampment in Royal Athletic Park that preceded Tiny Town, with funding from the Red Cross, he said. People received stipends to pick up trash and keep the neighbourhood clean, he said.
“That’s how you get community, is you get some sort of sense of ownership,” Kahil said.
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