What the Squamish community thinks about a new supporting housing development

Squamish residents are unsure and uneasy about the District’s new proposed supportive housing development. 

At a public information session held on June 25 at the Mamquam Elementary School gym, representatives behind the project gathered to answer residents' burning questions. 

A brief history

The District announced the project on June 5 and revealed that it would be built in partnership with BC Housing, Squamish Community Housing Society and Squamish Helping Hands Society.

The new development is being proposed on District-owned land and would be built at 39900 Government Rd. and Centennial Way.

Built in two separate buildings, the first building would feature approximately 60 to 65 supportive homes, and the second building would feature approximately 100 affordable rental homes.

The supportive homes would be operated by the Squamish Helping Hands Society, which would also provide wellness services, support and aid in securing the housing. 

Housing availability would be for local community members, including seniors, adults and people with disabilities who are at risk of or experiencing homelessness and need support to maintain their housing.

The proposed 100 affordable rental homes would range in size from studios to two and three-bedroom apartments. 

It would be owned by Housing Squamish and prioritize moderate-income Squamish residents who are seniors, people with disabilities, and families.

According to the District of Squamish website, the majority of units “would have rents based on 30% of residents’ household incomes as confirmed by annual income testing.” 

Funding for this portion of the project has been requested via BC Housing’s Community Housing Fund and is currently not yet confirmed.

According to the 2023 Point in Time homeless count, there were 119 people experiencing homelessness in Squamish. Of these, 41% reported insufficient income as their reason for housing loss.

Development permit applications for the two buildings are anticipated to be submitted by summer 2025, with site preparation expected to begin in winter 2025/26. 

Local concern

The Squamish Chief spoke to residents at the public information session to hear how they felt about the development.

One local mother said she had a number of concerns with the project.

“[For us], we’re concerned about what this is going to look like for safety along the dike there because we take our kids there and our dogs,” she said.

“The first couple of months there will also likely be a lot of ambulance and police call outs while things stabilize and it's already so loud back there. 

“If this [development] is actually happening, my husband and I think we’re going to need to move.”

The mother also said there was no way local councillors would support the development if it was happening near their homes. 

“I’d love to know where the mayor lives and some of the other councillors because they would not want this in their backyard,” she said. 

Other locals shared that they felt as though any opinions they shared with the District would be irrelevant. 

“They don’t listen to the community. No matter what it is, we can have all the involvement that they’ll offer, but it goes nowhere,” one woman said.

“This is an information session, they don’t care about our feedback so it doesn't matter what we say.”

When asked if there was anything the District or project partners could do to make the development supportable, one group of locals answered bluntly, ‘No.’

“There’s absolutely nothing the District could do to make this a project I’d support, the location is just bad,” one said. 

There were a few people who said they would support the project's good intentions, but claimed that it was being poorly executed. 

A message to share

Squamish Helping Hands executive director Lori Pyne said that there are no buildings which offer the services the project is proposing, anywhere between North Vancouver and Lillooet.

“So there's a whole spectrum of people who do not have access to services like this,” she said. 

One common misconception she wanted to address with locals is that the supportive housing building would not offer drop-in services.

“This is for people that use substances and people that are disabled and seniors. So it's people that can live independently that need support to maintain their housing, to keep them housed,” Pyne said.

“The biggest difference between this and Under One Roof is there's no drop-in services in this building. So there's no food bank, there's no drop-in showers, there's no drop-in laundry, there's no drop-in hot food, there's no drop-in primary care. 

“Those are the resources that the transient people and people living outside need access to but unfortunately or fortunately, they're not going to be at this building.”

She also reaffirmed that the buildings would add a “crucial piece” to the housing continuum in the Sea to Sky Corridor. 

“It just simply doesn't exist yet, and it's four years away still. But we needed this yesterday,” she said. 

Squamish Community Housing Society (SCHS) executive director Sarah Ellis told The Squamish Chief that affordable housing is the number one concern for people in the community. 

“The biggest thing that we’re hearing from folks with the affordable building … which is not currently funded … is that they recognize how needed it is and they are excited,” she said. 

Ellis said the SCHS “really wants to be good neighbours”.

“We really see ourselves as being a presence and a neighbour in this community for the next 60 to 100 years for the life of the building,” she said.

“So we are really invested in maintaining good relationships and making sure the people living in our building are being good neighbours to the people living here already.”

On the supportive housing building, Ellis noted that it was a “specialized building with a unique population” so all partners involved in the project were adamant on being transparent and open with the public about what will happen there. 

“I think we can take what we’re hearing and use it to inform how we approach the way we operate both of the buildings,” she said. 

“There’s such a deep need for supportive housing in this community. We’re trying to create that circle of housing that really doesn’t exist right now.”

For more information on the project, visit the District of Squamish website.