Image: Mike Vanden Bosch / Pattison Media / A temporary winter shelter for unhoused people at 46146 Margaret Avenue in Chilliwack (above) is pictured. Chilliwack city council voted Tuesday (Sept. 5) to accept a recommendation from staff that the city of Chilliwack not enforce bylaws or BC building code requirements governing a shelter for unhoused people at 46146 Margaret Avenue, next to Ruth and Naomi's Mission. The shelter will run from October 1 to April 30, 2024. 

By Mike Vanden Bosch

Winter shelter in Chilliwack

Chilliwack council OK’s not enforcing bylaws or BC building code for Margaret Ave. shelter

Sep 7, 2023 | 11:26 AM

CHILLIWACK — Chilliwack city council voted Tuesday (Sept. 5) to accept a recommendation from staff that the city of Chilliwack not enforce bylaws or BC building code requirements governing a shelter for unhoused people at 46146 Margaret Avenue, next to Ruth and Naomi’s Mission.

The time frame for non-enforcement of city bylaws and BC building code regulations would run from October 1 through April 30, 2024.

City staff wrote in their recommendation to council that shelter beds are urgently needed to accommodate and support many people who are living tenuously over the winter on downtown streets and throughout Chilliwack in makeshift camps. Their living arrangements, city staff wrote, create a significant negative impact to themselves and the surrounding community. Existing shelters in Chilliwack operate at full capacity.

Operating funding for staffing and security has been secured, the city noted, and the Chilliwack Fire Department chief has inspected the building and concluded that there are no immediate life safety concerns.

According to a staff report prepared by Holly Ferris, Chilliwack city council made a policy decision in November 2022 not to enforce a zoning bylaw or BC building code to facilitate a temporary shelter at 46146 Margaret Avenue for six months. The shelter, Ferris wrote, operated by Ruth and Naomi’s Mission, met the need for extra beds through the winter and spring as other shelter beds remained in full use.

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Chilliwack councillors made no comment on this agenda item during Tuesday’s meeting.