Mats at the Cannery Row shelter, operated by Safe Harbour Society. (Supplied)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

still alive

Safe Harbour applies for extension at Cannery Row shelter site

Jul 7, 2021 | 11:59 AM

There is breath in the life of the prospect that the Safe Harbour-operated temporary shelter could remain at its current location past the end of its current permit.

The City of Red Deer confirms Safe Harbour Society has submitted an application to extend operations at Cannery Row in Railyards until a permanent shelter is built, or at minimum for an additional year past Sept. 30, 2021.

City council approved a four-month extension on May 26, instead of the proposed one-year extension. That followed a lengthy public hearing on May 25 and a prior two-month extension until May 31 approved in March.

Safe Harbour has been running the expanded shelter at Cannery Row since March 2020 when the province provided funding to relocate services there during the pandemic. Its much smaller regular facility is across the street.

“What happens is when council refuses an application, another cannot come back for six months,” explains Planning Manager Emily Damberger. “However, council has actually approved the bylaws, just the first was for two months and the second was four months, so not technically refused. Therefore, a new application can and has come forward.”

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The application will go through the standard rezoning process, meaning council will consider first reading sometime in the next two months. If carried, another public hearing, plus second and third readings would occur at least four weeks later.

That results in a tight timeline in terms of Safe Harbour’s current requirement to vacate the premises by end of September, just 12 weeks away.

If a public hearing occurs, property owners within 100 metres of the shelter (5239 53 Avenue) would receive a letter offering the chance to provide feedback. Other members of the public could also provide correspondence.

Damberger says new information may include feedback from people who didn’t previously provide any, public health data, and results of how well mitigation measures are working.

In May, council approved $41,000 to implement several on-site tactics.

Kristin Walsh, Safe and Healthy Communities Manager, says a Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) report by the Central Alberta Crime Prevention Centre (CACPC) caused some measures to be delayed.

A planned eight-foot fence isn’t yet installed, though an existing six-foot fence is. Lighting and other physical pieces are still awaiting installation.

A needle dropbox already existed on site, and the Downtown Business Association (DBA) clean team has expanded its clean-up frequency and scope.

The date for a planned community conversation and education program is still being set, and implementation of the CACPC’s agreed upon safe-walk program for area businesses and residents is in progress.

Safe Harbour’s executive director, Kath Hoffman, says what’s changed is parties are now working together.

“We have more people helping us now; the City is trying to help with the downtown bathroom situation, and the DBA’s enhanced their cleanups to include our area. Working together is the best way to do it. We couldn’t do everything ourselves and we shouldn’t have been held accountable for everything either,” says Hoffman.

“We believe very strongly this is the most logical, common sense solution to the problem, and with the transition period to a permanent shelter being up in the air. This isn’t to dismiss or disregard concerns of businesses in the area. We’ve never done that. Those concerns are a result of a crisis the community is experiencing, and people are angry, but they’re misplacing that anger toward Safe Harbour.”

Hoffman concludes it simply isn’t an option to allow for a gap in this service as the consequences would do more harm than current circumstances.

“No other property owners said that they want us, but our current landlord does, which is interesting because they’ve been renting to us for over a year. You’d think they’d want us out if we were so bad,” Hoffman says. “On the contrary, they’re finding we’re really responsive and constantly working to make things better. In reality, that’s what area businesses want and what we all want: a safer and healthier community.”

More information is at RedDeer.ca/temporaryshelter.

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