A parking lot in Sarnia's downtown core could be transformed into affordable housing units.
In a 7-2 vote, council agreed to hand over the property at 115 Victoria St. N to the County of Lambton.
It's not yet known how much of the 4,800 square metre land will be used for housing, but council was clear that parking had to be maintained for area businesses.
Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley said the city received a serious objection from nearby Tang's Restaurant.
"Their concern is the loss of parking for themselves and for their customers, and two years of disruption if a building is built there," said Bradley. "That's a serious concern. If council were to make this a surplus, the proposed concept you have should not include the entire parking lot."
During a presentation to council on Monday, Michael John Kooy from the Sarnia Rotary Club said there are a number of reasons why the Victoria Street lot is an ideal spot for affordable housing.
"It's in the downtown, and it's not too far from other multi-residential buildings like the Sandpiper and the Life Lease building," said Kooy. "The Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) is downtown, and it's not too far from the hospital, there are services nearby. There's not a whole lot for grocery shopping but we all suffer from that in the downtown."
Kooy said they identified 35 possible sites, and that was narrowed down to three with the Victoria Street parking lot being the preferred location.
He said affordable housing charities like Indwell have had success operating facilities in nearby London, St. Thomas and Woodstock.
Councillor Brian White called the homelessness issue a "desperate situation."
"Folks are living on the streets, folks are living in tents and it's extremely visible," said White. "Folks are raising children in very, very precarious situations, subject to all of the weather. There are issues of violence, and people are using public spaces as washrooms. We have people sleeping in back alleys and setting up shop in front of the library and businesses. Businesses would probably benefit the most from working with our population to ensure they are safely housed and offered the skills and opportunities to grow in this community."
Councillors Terry Burrell and Bill Dennis voted against the motion.
Burrell couldn't understand why the city would give away a prime piece of downtown property.
"Housing is not our responsibility," said Burrell. "Why we are contributing this much money to a project that is traditionally almost fully funded by the federal government? Why are we giving the land away? It makes no sense at all."
It's expected concept plans will be presented to city and county councils this fall.