Not in my neighbourhood: Residents want planned transitional housing project moved
It was a decision made back in August, but now Sudbury residents are speaking up.
City council decided to move forward with a transitional housing project and even decided on a location, but a new petition is hoping to change that.
City councillors meet with Lorraine Street residents about petition against planned transitional housing project. Oct. 24/21 (Molly Frommer/CTV Northern Ontario)
When the word got out about the proposed housing complex on Lorraine Street, off Lasalle Boulevard near Notre Dame Avenue, residents in the area started a petition with many saying they think the city should move it closer to the downtown core.
"The reason why is all the services are downtown and they have established a community for themselves downtown. So, what we feel is that they are just moving the area from one area to another area. Something like this should not be in any neighbourhood. Especially a residential area," Maria Biasucci, a nearby resident.
"My house is directly across the street. I have a young son, he is 10 years old and I don’t want him to be witnessing things that he does not need to see," said Jason Violino, another neighbourhood resident.
More than 350 people signed the petition so far.
Petition against planned transitional housing project in Sudbury. Oct. 25/21 (Molly Frommer/CTV Northern Ontario)
"We realize we do have a homeless situation that has to be dealt with, it is getting worse and worse. I really think that city council has to re-evaluate this because, again, of the surroundings and people living in the area. All the other services are downtown. It’s just common sense," said Gerry Martel, another concerned resident.
Some city councillors said that at the time when voting took place, they were in favour of the housing complex being situated on Lorraine Street, but since talking to nearby residents, they have decided another location should be discussed.
"I did make a mistake on my vote. We didn’t have enough information in front of us. Things were too rushed for us so we couldn’t make a proper decision and the money was there and we had to act on it but that’s not stopping us from re-evaluating things," said Bill Leduc, Sudbury city councillor for Ward 11.
The housing project location is part of the city's Ward 5, represented by Robert Kirwan.
"Three-hundred-fifty signatures means that there’s a lot of people in this area, but I was also told that there’s a lot of people from outside this area, who again, they aren’t worried about it being in their area. They are saying the best place for transitional housing programs like this is downtown where you got all of the services," Kirwan said.
The city councillor said he will deliver this petition at the planning committee meeting on Monday and that city staff members are planning a public meeting, which will hopefully take place within two to three weeks.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter banned from NBA
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter has been handed a lifetime ban from The National Basketball Association (NBA) following an investigation which found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors, the league says.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Attempt to have murder charge quashed against alleged serial killer dismissed by judge
A motion filed by the man accused of killing four Indigenous women in Winnipeg to have one of those murder charges quashed has been dismissed by the judge – weeks before the start of his trial.
Government proposes new policy for federally regulated employees to disconnect from work
In their 2024 budget, the federal government wants to amend the Canada Labour Code, so employers in federally regulated sectors will eliminate work-related communication with employees outside of scheduled hours. If implemented, this would affect roughly 500,000 employees across the country.
Earthquake jolts southern Japan
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.4 hit southern Japan late on Wednesday, said the Japan Meteorological Agency, without issuing a tsunami warning.