Mayor open to reoccupying Little Mountain

Tom Sandborn, Vancouver Courier
Published: Friday, July 24, 2009

Mayor Gregor Robertson told me in a phone interview on Wednesday he would support a "renovate and re-occupy" solution to the current crisis at Little Mountain, where a dozen remaining tenants and the activists who support them are suggesting that the B.C. Housing application to demolish existing buildings be denied and the current structures be repaired and repopulated.

This is good news for everyone who has been appalled by the spectacle of a functioning and healthy community at Little Mountain being destroyed by the removal of tenants and the prospect of a long and empty delay until the developer, Holborn Holdings, comes up with the money to execute its dubious plans. Activists are further dismayed by persistent rumors that the demolition was being fast tracked to provide a parking lot for an Olympic venue. (Full disclosure: I am an activist who recently participated in a hunger strike for affordable housing.)

However, the mayor told me he thought Rich Coleman, B.C.'s Minister of Housing, wouldn't back re-occupation. In an earlier email exchange, the mayor said the city was required by its agreement with the province to grant the demolition permit that B.C. Housing has requested. So it remains unclear whether the mayor's expressed support for the residents' preferred option will have any effect.

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