VANCOUVER—Could temporary modular housing be coming to a single-family neighbourhood near you?

That’s the idea being put forward in a motion by a Vancouver city councillor that would allow modular homes — usually geared toward people who were previously homeless — in single-family areas.

Temporary modular housing in Vancouver is currently only allowed on land zoned for comprehensive development, which often means a parking lot or an empty lot awaiting redevelopment.

But the city is running out of locations for new temporary modular housing projects and the growing number of people without homes indicate officials needs to find a solution quickly, said Councillor Christine Boyle.

“We need more homes for low-income people and we increasingly see low-income and shelter rate homes being pressured into a smaller and smaller place in the Downtown Eastside,” she told Star Vancouver.

City council is scheduled to discuss the motion Tuesday.

The motion suggests that staff look for land parcels zoned for RS (single-family) or RT (duplex or multiple dwellings) that may be suitable for a temporary modular housing project before city council considers any change to zoning bylaws. If the motion passes, staff will be asked to report back to council by the end of the year.

More than 2,200 Vancouverites are homeless, according to the 2019 homeless count. The number of residents without a permanent address has increased every year for the past four years.

The majority of land in Vancouver is zoned for single-family housing. In her motion, Boyle stated these single-family neighbourhoods result in “high housing prices” and “very limited land options for temporary modular housing under current bylaws.”

She also suggests current zoning bylaws are “overly restrictive” and “segregate uses unnecessarily.”

Boyle is also proposing that zoning bylaws be changed to allow for low-income housing geared toward families in single-family neighbourhoods. Current temporary modular housing rules only allow for one person per unit and therefore exclude families.

The four-page motion details why Boyle believes low-income residents should be able to live in all neighbourhoods.

“Those experiencing homelessness come from every neighbourhood of our city, and so housing for homeless and low-income residents should be available in every neighbourhood of our city,” wrote Boyle.

She added that many of the fears community members had about previous temporary modular housing sites “have subsided.”

She told Star Vancouver on Sunday that she’s not worried about potential backlash to the idea of putting low-income housing — permanent or otherwise — in various neighbourhoods, even though proponents of temporary modular housing have run up against safety fears in the city before.

“I suspect there will be a bit of nervousness and opposition but overwhelmingly, I’ve heard support for it and I’ve heard Vancouverites understand that we need to house people and have compassion,” Boyle said.

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In 2017, a proposed modular housing site in Marpole faced fervent opposition due to its proximity to an elementary school and single-family neighbourhood. But after tenants moved in, Vancouver police have repeatedly said the volume of calls at the temporary modular housing project is not unusual compared to other apartments in the area. In January, the Supreme Court of Canada rejected an appeal application from the neighbourhood group that opposed the housing project.

About 400 units of temporary modular housing were built in Vancouver in 2018 and the city is working to reach a goal of creating another 600 units by the end of 2019.

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