Penticton, B.C., is not immune to the homelessness crisis, but the city’s latest plan to tackle it is raising some concerns — not so much about what’s being planned but how the city is going about it.
“We’ve had no consultation,” said Stacy Rempel, a concerned resident.
The City of Penticton wants to build a tiny home community for the unhoused population on a piece of land along Dartmouth Road.
While the area is largely industrial, the Wiltse residential neighbourhood is only about a kilometre and a half away.
“There is a daycare and schools less than 1,500 meters away.” Rempel said.
Rempel said the plan, which was announced last week, came with little information for area residents
“The notice came out very quickly. It came out on the 24th,” Rempel said. “There was only notification to locations within 100 metres of the site, which is very close and there was quite a bit of shock that there was a lack of consultation.”
Rempel said she took matters into her owns hands to notify those who work and live in the area.
“I started walking the streets with flyers over the weekend, the public notice,” she said.
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Lynn Kelsey lives in another part of town but pays close attention to civic issues.
She says better community engagement is needed.
“They have not given people a chance to to put in their two bits where it’s the people that live around here, work around here,” Kelsey told Global News.
“They haven’t had an opportunity to share their thoughts and their feelings about it.”
Rempel said what’s adding to the frustration of the public consultation piece is how quickly the project may be moving along.
Council is set to vote on a temporary permit this coming Tuesday.
In response, Rempel launched an online petition called ‘Support Safety for Wiltse and Industrial Penticton area’, which has garnered more than 1,200 signatures.
She hopes it delays that vote and brings attention to an area already home to a shelter for the unhoused population.
“I think there was just, you know, downloading solutions onto this community again and again in this small area are having a profound impact,” Rempel said, citing incidents of thefts, break-ins and biohazard waste.
Penticton Mayor Julius Bloomfield was not available to respond to the concerns being expressed.
However, in a statement to Global News, the city said, “The city has met all legislative requirements for the Temporary Use Permit process, including public notification.”
It added, “This decision is about land use, and the process follows the rules set out in provincial legislation.”
The city also stated that written comments can be submitted to the corporate officer until 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 4 by email at [email protected].
If council votes in favour of the temporary use permit next week, the city said the tiny home community could be operational by spring 2026.
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