The fate of the Bowen Road wet house

The fate of the Bowen Road wet house

Nanaimo city council finally held a vote on the fate of the Bowen Road wet house this past Monday.  After 4 public forums on the subject, council voted to put the building of the Bowen Road wet house on hold, for now.

The plan was to build a 36-unit social housing facility at 1406 Bowen Road.  There are four other locations where these wet house facilities are scheduled to be built. These wet houses (as they are called) will supply housing for the city's homeless, addicted and mentally ill.

The Bowen Road location will be put on hold until they see if the four other facilities can handle the load.   Council did however adopt the rezoning bylaw that would allow the low-barrier housing complex to go ahead, if need be, sometime in the future.  Should the Bowen Road location not be needed then the property will be sold.

Many citizens came forward during the public forums to share their concerns about the Bowen Roads proximity to an elementary school and a pub.  Other concerns that arose were the potential negative effects on property values.

The locations of the other facilities to be built are on Townsite Road, Tenth Street, Wesley Street and another location, to be determined, somewhere in the North end.