The official results are in.
In only 15 days of collecting signatures, Rutland residents were able to collect a total of 14,147 signatures, including 12,984 from Kelowna residents, to show their opposition of the BC Housing project slated for McCurdy Road.
Audra Boudreau, the petition organizer, was looking to collect 13,000 signatures from Kelowna residentssa国际传媒攔epresenting 10 per cent of the city. Instead, to her surprise, signees from across B.C. and beyond penned the petition, however, missing information disqualified a total of 277 signatures.
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sa国际传媒淭here were signatures from all over this great city, from neighbourhoods you wouldnsa国际传媒檛 have though we had support from,sa国际传媒� she wrote in a Facebook post.
sa国际传媒淭hroughout the city, people do not want these facilities near schools, seniors and families,sa国际传媒� she continued. sa国际传媒淚nterestingly, there are a few very surprising signatures in there as wellsa国际传媒攑eople who have seemingly supported the wet facility or have some involvement with it who, clearly, have the same concerns.sa国际传媒�
Volunteers and concerned community members have been holding protests for more than a month against the 49-unit supportive housing project. Rutlandsa国际传媒檚 biggest concern is that drugs and alcohol can be consumed on site. This is disconcerting for residents as the sitesa国际传媒檚 location is situated near schools, seniorssa国际传媒� homes and family amenities.
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sa国际传媒淚f that many voices are speaking out that loudly, it would be a fatal error in (councilsa国际传媒檚) part,sa国际传媒� she said. sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 a hard statement to discard for Mayor (Colin) Basran.sa国际传媒�
She said the more than 14,000 signatures only illustrate a small picture of the reality of the situation. She said those who signed only represent eligible voters, it does not include those under the age of 18.
A few surprising signatures stood out to Boudreau during her more than 19-hour count.
Signatures from across the province, from as north as Prince Rupert to the southern tip of Vancouver Island appeared on the petition. She even noticed a single signature from Australia.
sa国际传媒淭here were even a couple of people we were out in the community in an official capacity that appeared to be in support of the development, and yet they signed the petition,sa国际传媒� she said.
Boudreau said signatures from residents of sa国际传媒攁 supportive housing project on St. Paul Streetsa国际传媒攁ppeared among the 14,147 votes.
sa国际传媒淲e had homeless people who wanted to sign it,sa国际传媒� she said. sa国际传媒淭hey approached one volunteer who was downtown, but she told them she couldnsa国际传媒檛 accept them as they did not have a fixed address.sa国际传媒�
She said she intends to present the petition to council during Mondaysa国际传媒檚 meeting, however, she will not allow council to comb through it, as the signatures are meant for the provincesa国际传媒攊f they have to take it to that next level.
READ MORE: Ex-homeless Rutland man says supportive housing too close to schools
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Caitlin.clow@kelownacapnews.com
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