Victoria’s committee of the whole has voted in favour of a six-month extension for a temporary use permit for a tiny homes village in North Park.
The initial temporary use permit was first approved on March 18, 2021, where council granted local developer Aryze and the Greater Victoria Coalition to End Homelessness permission to build a tiny home village out of shipping containers in a parking lot across from Royal Athletic Park.
Equipped with communal washrooms and showers, the tiny homes village, named Tiny Town, has been serving as a temporary development aimed at helping people — who were sheltering outside in the provincial capital — transition into stable housing.
The village, now operated by Our Place Society and the GVCEH, requested an extension on the permit to March 2023 to allow for more time to plan for the current residents to find more permanent housing.
READ MORE: Council unanimously supports tiny-homes village near Royal Athletic Park
“This extension would allow the Greater Victoria Coalition to End Homelessness more time to plan the relocation of the residents of Tiny Town,” said Jeff Bray, co-chair and Sylvia Ceacero, executive director of the GVCEH in a letter to council.
“This project has been transformative by addressing the needs of persons experiencing homelessness and transformational to our community.”
BC Housing also wrote to council committing to continuing to fund support of the village through Our Place.
Committee of the whole voted to extend the project to the requested deadline, and also to consult with the North Park Neighbourhood Association, BC Housing and the service provider to consider a possible additional extension on the permit of up to two-and-a-half years. Staff is then asked to report back to council on the results of the consultation for consideration.
The extension will come back at a future council meeting for final approval.
With files from CHEK’s Graham Cox.
Laura Brougham
