Richard Sawatsky, a provincial government employee, has called his RV home for months, due to the high cost of rental housing on the South Island.
B次元官网网址淗ouses are just too expensive,B次元官网网址� said Sawatsky, a member of the Sooke Homeless Coalition.
HeB次元官网网址檚 not alone.
The latest figures from the 2020 Greater Victoria Point-In-Time Homeless Count and Housing Needs Report found 37 people homeless in Sooke, and 16 per cent of them sleep in their vehicles. Those numbers are expected to be much higher now, with more than 25 people known to sleep in cars among the hidden homeless.
B次元官网网址淩ight now, there is nowhere for people to go,B次元官网网址� Sawatsky said.
To try to help, the coalition wants to work with the District of Sooke to offer stable, safe places to park.
One option is a two-year emergency billeting pilot program where property owners would offer their driveway or space for RV parking, with electricity hook up, water and access to Wi-Fi. A contract would exist for the land arrangement, with the RV owner paying $300 to the landlord.
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The billeting program would see RV owners parked on private land for up to 90 days.
But there are challenges.
The district would need to issue temporary use permits. Still, there are also water, sewer, Building Code, zoning and official community plan issues, Matthew Pawlow, SookeB次元官网网址檚 director of planning, told council at a recent committee-of-the-whole meeting.
Senior levels of government may also need to get involved. The province is creating a new housing initiative to fast-track development, which could include constructing tiny homes and using recreational vehicles as permanent housing.
B次元官网网址淚f we relax the zoning, we canB次元官网网址檛 do it for 20 or 30 people. We have to relax the zoning across the board and not show favouritism,B次元官网网址� Coun. Al Beddows said.
Other councillors agreed.
Coun. Dana Lajeunesse said he didnB次元官网网址檛 think the program could span the district and all neighbourhoods and suggested a minimum property size.
The biggest challenge is for different levels of bureaucracy to work together so change could happen B次元官网网址渋n a meaningful way,B次元官网网址� said acting mayor Ebony Logins.
The Sooke Homeless Coalition will discuss the billeting pilot program next month, expecting to return to council later this year.
B次元官网网址淭he devilB次元官网网址檚 in the details, and there are a lot of details that need to be worked out,B次元官网网址� Beddows said.
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editor@sookenewsmirror.com
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