The idea of allowing temporary overnight shelters on surface parking lots in the city was rejected by Victoria council Thursday in a tight vote.
Council voted 5-4 to defeat a motion brought forward by Mayor Marianne Alto that would have given some churches and community organizations a tax break in exchange for the use of their surface parking lots to house homeless people.
Councillors Jeremy Caradonna, Matt Dell, Stephen Hammond, Marg Gardiner and Chris Coleman voted against the motion, which would have made it possible for 13 properties to reclaim tax exemptions that are being phased out. Alto and councillors Krista Loughton, Susan Kim and Dave Thompson voted in favour of the initiative.
Non-profit facilities with parking lots that cover more than 50 per cent of their properties lost tax-exempt status for the lots last year.
Those groups, including the Anglican Church of St. Barnabas, the Victoria Edelweiss Club, the B.C. Muslim Association, the Polish White Eagle Hall and Bayanihan Cultural Society, are expected to see a 20 per cent property tax increase on the parking lots over the next five years.
The motion would have allowed those that decided to give up parking space for temporary housing to get an exemption on the tax. The tax rate varies based on the size and assessed value of the property.
Anne Sharpe, general manager of the Edelweiss Club in James Bay, which has 33 parking stalls, said she was relieved to hear the motion had died on the council floor.
“This was not a solution to the homeless problem,” said Sharpe. “Putting them into parking lots is not an answer.”
Sharpe said no tax break was likely to offset the problems temporary shelters can cause, or the loss of revenue if private clubs couldn’t rent out their venues.
“I don’t know that any incentive would be enough to [convince us] to do what she was proposing,” she said. “We keep these buildings open and operating by renting out our venue at times for weddings and conferences and things of that nature, which includes providing parking.
“If the parking lot is full of people, homeless people or whatever ... then that would really affect the business.”
In pushing for the motion, Alto told council the city is in the midst of a crisis and is trying to do everything it can to deal with homelessness and disorder.
But several councillors noted they had heard from the public about security concerns and fears the initiative would just be moving problems from one part of the city to another.
Hammond said he would only consider the idea if proper security and protection were promised for the neighbours. Gardiner, meanwhile, dismissed suggestions that councillors who opposed the motion were fear-mongering.
“We’re trying to make our city just safer. We need to make our city comfortable for all of us,” she said.
Coun. Matt Dell said while it was an innovative idea, he couldn’t support it, noting there has been no indication from the 13 organizations that there is any interest in swapping parking spots for a tax break.
