About 100 concerned residents attended a meeting on the proposed 80-bed homeless shelter on Third Street.

A large room at the Maple Leaf House was packed with residents who wanted to know more about a planned shelter for the homeless on the site of a City parking lot on Third Street.

As usual there were many against the shelter and those who support the project, one of 19 proposed citywide to help the homeless population.

City shelters have to turn away hundreds of the homeless nightly in this freezing weather due to a lack of beds.

Many of those at the meeting were asking why there wasn’t public consultation on the upcoming shelter, which is expected to be completed by 2030.

“… everyone is honestly blown away there wasn’t a public consultation on it, and if there was, nobody knew,” one person asked on social media.

Others noted the silence on the issue by Councillor Amber Morley noting “that she has disappeared.”

City crews have already started to conduct surveys and pre-construction work on the project.

There have been hundreds of postings against and for the shelter on social media. There are more than 1,300 people who signed an online petition against the facility, citing it was close to schools and on a residential street. Less than 50 had signed a second petition in support of the project.

“ a mountain of arguments and opinions were presented to the people gathered there to garner support to reject the City’s well-intentioned and sorely needed plan to deal with the growing crisis of homelessness,” one resident said on social media. “… fear-mongering – “no” before we know. “

“it is unlikely that this site will remain parking long-term,” another person wrote. ” There is a serious risk that something deeply destructive to the community will wind up being proposed for this site if the shelter proposal falls through.”

No further meetings or public consultations are planned.