The centre piece of Anita Place Tent City that took Dwayne Martin a year to build, came tumbling down Thursday as the City of Maple Ridge continued its efforts at the two-year-old homeless camp in the downtown.
Temporary structures and associated debris are removed as and when verified occupants of tent city are provided housing, as per earlier Supreme Court rulings, the city said in a release.
鈥淲hat you are seeing here is the city enforcing the terms of the order issued by Justice Grauer,鈥� said Mayor Michael Morden who was on scene at the demolition.
鈥淭he city remains committed to following through with everything the court mandates. And it鈥檚 our expectation here that this camp will be closed and we鈥檒l be looking forward to having a park,鈥� Morden said.
The city鈥檚 news release said that Martin agreed to leave the camp through a consent order from the court.
鈥淎s part of that agreement, Mr. Martin has been provided with housing services and BC Housing has moved his personal possessions to his new residence,鈥� the release said.
It said that according to the court order, shacks and cabins of residents are removed as residents are found housing outside the camp.
Only about a half dozen people remain at the camp, compared to earlier this year when there were more than 50 residents.
Tent city was March 1 under order of the provincial fire commissioner, after which fewer people returned to the camp.
, who was watching the demolition said he felt numb. He鈥檚 moving to housing in Vancouver.
鈥淭his has happened several times where my stuff has been taken and destroyed and you get used to it sadly enough,鈥� said Martin.
鈥淭his is not going to break me. If anything, I feel sadly about it and it鈥檚 a bit more of a pain 鈥︹��
Martin just got a place in Vancouver two days ago.
鈥淚鈥檓 looking forward to a bit of rest here. I鈥檓 going to come back and help others,鈥� he added.
鈥淚鈥檓 more inspired now than ever,鈥� he said.
Martin said on that he wanted the cabin to remain so someone else could use it.
鈥淚 call it a rustic rancher. And it鈥檚 built very well, I tell you.鈥�
But Coun. Ahmed Yousef said it was a safety hazard and no one else should occupy the building.
Maple Ridge resident Terry Asunma said he was happy the shack was coming down, saying that it should have happened a long time ago, saying it was built without a permit and asking what would have happened had it fallen down.
He also criticized Pivot Legal Society which represented residents, saying that if Pivot spent as much time on advocating for treatment as it did advocating for drug abuse,鈥漺e鈥檇 be better off,鈥� said Asunma.
Anna Cooper, with Pivot Legal Society, however criticized the city. 鈥淐ity officials have all kinds of justifications to undermine: fire safety, building codes, zoning.
鈥淏ut where are they with the options? In the absence of alternatives this is just abuse,鈥� Cooper said via Twitter.
鈥淚t鈥檚 breaking my heart to watch this. It鈥檚 symbolic of this city鈥檚 entire approach to its homeless community,鈥� Cooper said.
There鈥檚 no clear timeline for when the camp will completely close, said Carl McBeath with the city.
鈥淲e anticipate the St. Anne camp closing when the modular housing (on Burnett Street) opens and all of the camp occupants that applied, can move in, if they have not found other housing in the meantime.鈥�
The modular housing on Burnett Street isn鈥檛 scheduled to open until October. Morden said in the release that council鈥檚 priority is to do its part to deliver diverse housing for seniors, low-income earners and single parents and is committed to options for drug treatment and long-term recovery.
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