Canada needs more housing. B.C. needs more housing. Surrey needs more housing. It is one of the foremost challenges facing all of us.
But should it be at the expense of people who already live here in homes they can afford, homes they will be forced to leave behind to allow for more density? That is a question many residents of older low-rise apartments and multi-family developments in Surrey are asking.
Most recently, a representative speaking for residents of Kwantlen Park Manor on 106 Avenue asked Surrey council to delay a public hearing on a project, as reported in the Jan. 16 edition of Surrey Now-Leader. It would see their 31-unit, three-storey building torn down and replaced by two six storey-buildings with 10 non-market rental, 58 market rental and 70 market strata dwellings, above two levels of underground parking.
Council did not agree with the request for a delay. The public hearing went ahead at the Jan. 13 council meeting, and the project advanced to third reading. However, the voices of those representing Kwantlen Park residents made some very important points — points worth remembering.
“I just want to raise my concerns for my tenants, “ said Tom Beneteau, manager of Kwantlen Park Apartments, at the hearing. “There are a lot of good people in that building and I do not know where they're going to go – they're going to get forced out of the area, they're going to get forced out of their schools, and they're scared."
“Tenants we have spoken to tell us they have received very little information about the building owner’s plans that could displace them," Michelle Travis, research director of UNITE HERE Local 40 said in a letter to Mayor Brenda Locke, asking for a delay of the public hearing. "Many of the families are immigrants with young children in nearby schools. There are multi-generational families living there. Some are elders; some have special needs.
“Tenants are unfamiliar with how the development process works in Surrey, and some face language barriers, so it should come as no surprise if they have not contacted city planning staff with their concerns," she explained. "Based on what tenants have told us, they are in the dark about development timelines. ... If the applicant has provided the city with a tenant relocation plan, the tenants are unaware of what that plan looks like."
Developer’s representative Trevor Massey said at the hearing that a “tenant relocation co-ordinator (will work) closely with each of the residents and assist them through this process. (The developers) have also committed to providing compensation to the residents and to assist them finding suitable, comparable replacement homes as close to their current residence as possible."
This is just the latest instance of older multi-family housing stock being demolished to allow for new construction of buildings with higher densities. This isn’t surprising, given all the pressure on Surrey from the province to boost densities, and given the state of the housing market.
Surrey recently completed an interim Housing Needs Report required by the province. It says that 169,221 new housing units will be required in the next 20 years.
In 2024, a new record was set in Surrey, with 6,297 new dwellings built. This compares with the previous high of 5,932 units in 2019.
All of this is laudable and necessary. However, the city and the housing industry must not forget those who already live here and who are being forced to leave their affordable homes behind. The last thing Surrey or any other city needs is more homelessness.
Frank Bucholtz writes twice monthly on political issues for Black Press Media publications.
