The town council held a public hearing to address concerns over the results of a now-retracted proposal by the Brandon Jansen Memorial Foundation to establish a supportive recovery facility.
The Brandon Jansen Memorial Foundation was established by Michelle Jansen after her son died shortly before his 21st birthday from a drug overdose. With a facility in the Lower Mainland and one in Penticton, there were plans to expand to other locations in the Okanagan.
“For me, what opening these centres is, is an opportunity to save more lives,” said Jansen. “I decided on Vernon and Osoyoos because, like Penticton, they are outside the big city so there’s more serenity, more tranquillity.”
The plans to expand and open one of those additional facilities suffered a setback. Once word began to spread about the foundation’s proposal, the Osoyoos town council received a number of emails and letters from citizens concerned about the opening of such a facility in their own town. The public upset led the foundation to cease their current efforts to establish a facility in Osoyoos.
On Monday, April 16 the town council held a public to address proposed changes to the zoning bylaw for future attempts to set up such a facility. The amendments would include detailed definitions for what constituted a supportive recovery facility, first stage housing, and a redefinition of a community care facility.
After laying out the initial proposal for the amendment, the council heard from a number of Osoyoos citizens. Most of the citizens were concerned about the requirements the council proposed to apply to the zoning regulations, as well as the ongoing work by the provincial government.
“If we do any changes to our existing bylaws before we get the anticipated sweeping changes to the regulation and licensing of these types of houses, we will be wasting our tax dollars and our tax time,“ said Osoyoos citizen Lyle Warmington. He added that in the proposed amendment, “there is no provision to safeguard children playing in a public park as there is for the 250m exclusion for children in a public school.”
Others in the town were more open to going forward with the amendment and opening facilities in Osoyoos.
“I come with a slightly different perspective with my background. I’m a registered nurse, I have worked in detox centres all over downtown Vancouver,” said resident Birgit Arnstein. “I think there is a place for recovery homes. People are so afraid of drug addicts coming, I’m sorry, but your next-door neighbour could very well at this moment be shooting up. It happens, but in a recovery facility, it will not be happening, if it’s properly run.”
The council, as stated at the beginning of the hearing, did not make a decision on whether to go forward with the amendment. The Osoyoos council will continue to discuss the decision after having heard the complaints and letters received from those concerned over the matter.