Chilliwack council waived fees and development cost charges (DCCs) totalling almost $1.2 million at the Nov. 19 council meeting for an affordable housing project on Spadina Avenue.

But before the vote, Coun. Jeff Shields took the opportunity to raise a "big" concern he has about another project, the Trethewey supportive housing and homeless shelter project.

"You know this is pretty important what we're doing here as a city," Shields said about "foregoing" almost $1.2 million in fees for the affordable housing project.

As housing is not a municipal jurisdiction, waiving the associated fees and DCCs is the city's contribution to these projects.

"We have the good people of the United Church that donated a church property worth a fair bit of money in a nice area of town. We have really stepped up and showed our commitment to building housing but now I have this big concern with the other partner in this, which is the provincial government, responsible for building this housing.

"As we know we have one sitting over there on Trethewey and we're into the second or third year of it sitting there not done. And I don't have great confidence but I do hope the province is going to do a whole lot better on this one than it did on the last one," the councillor said.

Chilliwack has proven "over and over again" that it is willing to commit to this kind of housing, Shields said. "And still we kind of get left out, and left high and dry."

The councillor added he hopes the Spadina project won't be a repeat of the stalled Trethewey project.

Mayor Ken Popove originally said at a council meeting in September that the delayed Trethewey project got bogged down in litigation, apparently after the builders went broke. City officials were notified by BC Housing that they were working toward a completion date of March 2025 for Trethewey.

Mamele'awt Qweesome Housing Society (MQHS), a non-profit urban Indigenous housing society, applied to have the fees waived for the Spadina project under the City of Chilliwack's Community Development Initiatives funding policy, for $31,394 in fees, as well as the development cost charges of $1,183,977.

The Spadina project will deliver 64 units of affordable rental housing for seniors and low-income renters earning less than the median income for Chilliwack. The site and structure will be leased and operated by MQHS through a 60-year leasehold.

Karen Stanton, director of public safety and social development, told council she did some followup since she knew the building process was a concern, clarifying that the Province/BC Housing was funding the Spadina project and offering operating subsidies as well.

"But the project management is undertaken by housing consulting firm, CPA Consultants, who were the consultants on the Paramount project, and the builder is Vanmar Construction."

Final approval of the tender for the Spadina project is expected in December, with a tentative plan to break ground in the new year, followed by a 20-month construction period.

"If the experience we had with the Paramount is any indication, we should be in good shape," Stanton said.

Mayor Popove added a reminder that "it took seven years from inception to buildout for the Paramount. So don't hold your breath."