BARRHEAD - Two residents of the Town of Barrhead are concerned about a proposed addiction transition house for Main Street.
And Linda West and Angie Breitkreitz are not the only ones. They stated that at least two different letters are being circulated in the community opposing the proposed Best Option Health Services development of a 20-unit transition house, slated for the current Red Baron Inn site and that dozens, if not hundreds, of residents have signed them.
Best Option Health Services is a healthcare company that specializes in providing mental health and addiction services to the Indigenous community.
The proposed transition house would provide counselling and treatment programs for Indigenous clients, mainly from Treaty 6 communities outside of Barrhead, who had already successfully gone through detox, followed by an addiction recovery centre or similar facility for follow-up stabilization treatment.
West, a former town councillor and retired administrative assistant to the County of Barrhead manager, told the Barrhead Leader that what she is most concerned about is the lack of apparent transparency by the municipality.
Specifically, West was most concerned about the lack of notice residents received about the proposed project, stating that it is not surprising, given the limited advertising, that the municipality did not receive any appeals.
The municipality received Best Option Health Services' application in mid-March, and the Municipal Planning Commission (MPC) reviewed it at its meeting on March 24.
The MPC consists of a five-member board comprised of three elected officials and two members at large. According to the MPC minutes, two members were absent.
From the notice of motion, the public has 21 days to submit an appeal. The appeal period ended in early May, with the town approving the Best Option Health Services application, with several conditions, on May 7. As part of their approval, the MPC, after hearing from adjacent property owners imposed a number of conditions including the installation of a video surveillance system to monitor the transition house's entrances and outdoor spaces, ensuring that there adequate supervision on site to the satisfaction of the development authority, institute hours of operation or quiet hours from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m., adhere to the municipality's noise and community standards bylaws, prohibit loitering except within amenity spaces on the facility's property, have adequate parking as outlined in the Land-use Bylaw and enter into a "good neighbour" complaint resolution agreement with the municipality as well as one outlining commitments related to communications.
West said, according to the municipality's Advertising Bylaw, which council amended in 2019, states that the municipality must advertise any notice through the local newspaper, its website and/or social media channels, its printed materials, such as its newsletters distributed via utility bills or other mailouts or "any combination thereof that will reach substantially all residents of the Town of Barrhead".
Instead, she said, the municipality informed all property owners within 200 feet of the proposed development, which is a requirement under the town's Land-use Bylaw (LUB), by posting the notice on the building.
"If, as part of the process, public notice had been given, the whole of the community would have had the opportunity to appeal," West said.
However, she said, she questioned whether the town posted the notices on the building.
West noted that she would be asking the municipality for confirmation, along with its location and size, that the application notice was anywhere on the building, saying she has yet to meet a person who has seen the document.
"Is [posting it on the subject parcel] a good choice? How many people saw the notice?" she asked, adding that if the town did post the notice, it mainly went "unnoticed".
West suggested to the municipality that advertising in the newspaper would have been more effective.
She said they replied that the newspaper did not have a large enough circulation. West also noted that the municipality did not publish the notice on its website or social media platforms.
"Putting up a notice, where residents have to do the legwork themselves, instead of putting it in the paper and supplementing it by putting it on the town's website, is not the way to have the majority of residents become aware of a project," West said.
Breitkreitz, who owns The Mall, said she shared West's concerns about the process, including what she believes was an almost non-existent attempt by the developer at public engagement. Main Street is the wrong location for an addiction transition house.
On July 21, Ndlovu held a two-hour information session at the Barrhead and District Family Community Support Services office broken into six, 20-minute one-on-one sessions.
"Imagine being a business owner who has invested their livelihood and their future in it, put at risk. "I've spoken one-on-one to almost all the business people on Main Street, and the discouragement they feel is unbelievable. Not one of them is in favour of this," Breitkreitz said. "And how can [Best Option Health Services] do justice to its clients, by bringing it to a community where so many people, hundreds, have signed letters against this project?"
However, not all comments were negative.
Barrhead RCMP Detachment commander Sgt. Colin Hack said that although the municipality or Best Option Health Services did not contact the police for their comments, he added that he believes the business plan put forward by the company, along with the added conditions, makes sense.
A local not-for-profit organization stated that they supported the project. A board member of the same organization said they were "very excited about the program that they are looking to establish," and added there was a tremendous need for such a program, noting their organization often had to turn away people in need of their services due to addiction issues.
Another poster on the same community social media page stated that as long as the company fulfilled the conditions of their permit, they did not see an issue.
The Leader reached out to Best Option Health Services to inquire about the number of residents who took the company up on its offer, what they heard, and whether they were considering any future public engagement sessions. To read what Best Option Health Services had to say, see page 26.
On its website, the town acknowledges that some residents still have concerns about the proposal, but states there is no legal recourse for the decision to be overturned or reversed.
"Under the [MGA and the Land-use Bylaw], the MPC is the designated authority for reviewing and deciding on discretionary use permit applications. As such, council did not make the decision. Council only acts as the development authority for areas labelled as 'Direct Control'."
Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com
