A plan to build affordable housing on a pair of surface parking lots in downtown Stoney Creek is no longer.
Two municipal lots on Lake Avenue South in downtown Stoney Creek, included in a plan to add permanent dwellings to the city's affordable housing stock, are not going anywhere after a motion to put the debate back on the floor during Wednesday's council meeting was defeated.
It means a February 21 tie vote at a general issues committee meeting rejecting conversion of the parking areas in favour of 67 new affordable housing units will stand.
“The decision was that the item that had already been voted on, and was defeated, this body has decided not to re-examine that item and so the initial decision stands,” Horwath explained to council and several delegates waiting in a city hall gallery.
The matter had been an issue of contention for weeks bolstered by a petition spearheaded by the Stoney Creek BIA and residents who frequented the area insisting the lots at 5 and 13 Lake Avenue South were deemed critical for nearby small businesses and medical clinics.
Five city-owned parking lots and vacant properties in Hamilton , Ont. have been identified by non-profit groups as locations some 150 units of affordable housing could be built.
City Of Hamilton
Six properties were on a list for potential development when brought to council in early December as part of the Housing Sustainability and Investment Road map seeking to add some 150 permanent dwellings to ease the current housing crunch.
Staff proposed 5 Lake Ave. could become a three-storey building yielding 24 units with another 43 unit from 13 Lake Avenue South through a five-storey building.
Mayor Andrea Horvath, who was in favour of developing the Stoney Creek lots, wasn't pleased after the late February vote expressing disappointment in a statement suggesting councillors chose “parking lots over housing people.”
“To be clear, the use of municipal lands for affordable housing is a key part of our Housing Sustainability and Investment Roadmap and we must, as a Council, be doing everything we can to get people housed as quickly as possible,” she insisted.
But Ward 5 coun. Matt Francis, who won support for the amendment holding the properties back, told Global News Wednesday before the council meeting the move was about protecting jobs, small businesses and giving parking options for visitors to a nearby medical centre and veterans who frequent the Royal Canadian Legion.
Francis insisted he did his work on the file, including bringing a motion forward that suggests a site near the Dominic Agostino Riverdale Community Centre could be a replacement.
“I'm certainly grateful for all the work that we've done so far on the housing file, it's an important file,” said Francis. “I brought that … motion forward to look at an alternative site that could bring even more units within my ward.”
Going into the meeting, Ward 12 coun. Craig Cassar hoped to change some of his colleagues' minds through amendments offering up alternatives, including a nearby search for other spots and a look at leasing from private lots.
However, council voted not to lift the defeated motion for further debate.
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