File Photo (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

By James Peters

TRU Housing

City of Kamloops shuts down TRU request for emergency housing

Sep 23, 2021 | 9:13 AM

KAMLOOPS — UPDATE: Thompson Rivers University has released a statement in response to the City of Kamloops decision.

TRU is disappointed that our request to establish emergency temporary student housing on our Kamloops campus has been denied. We believe we put forward a solution that provides a full commitment to the health and safety of students and addressed a critical need due to a sudden and unforeseen shortage of affordable housing in the city. While we continue to seek solutions, there is information that we wish to clarify regarding the current situation.

We know housing is a complex and larger issue than a university can unilaterally resolve. In recent years, we have boosted our residence capacity to 1,366 beds; despite this, all of our residences are currently full. This is not due to an unusual influx of students, as there are 712 fewer students enrolled in the fall semester compared to 2019.

The need for affordable student housing developed in August due to sudden and unforeseen factors and we quickly developed a temporary emergency solution on our campus. The situation experienced today is the result of a number of factors that have strained the city’s affordable housing supply including the influx of out-of-town workers to support pipeline and other construction activity, wildfire evacuees, and the loss of spaces to social housing and future developments.

We regret the challenges that a lack of affordable housing spaces for students in Kamloops is creating. We will continue to explore immediate affordable housing options for students.

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EARLIER: The City of Kamloops is sending Thompson Rivers University back to the drawing board in its attempt to offer housing to an influx of students at the start of the school year.

Last week, TRU’s vice-president of administration and finance, Matt Milovick, asked the City to expedite permitting for portable temporary housing. The university proposed erecting the portable housing as “emergency facilities”, thus exempting the structures from the B.C. Building Code.

The planned $2.5 million housing would have consisted of four buildings housing 152 students.

Interior photos of the proposed housing (Image Credit: TRU)

In a letter dated Sept. 22, City of Kamloops CAO David Trawin told Milovick council has rejected that request, voting unanimously in a closed meeting to require TRU to meet B.C. Building Code standards. Trawin says the decision came after a detailed analysis from the City’s Building and Engineering Development Division as well as its lawyers.

“[I]t seems clear that [emergency facilities designation] is reserved for situations involving sudden or unforeseen events that require emergency action to protect lives or property,” said Trawin in the letter.

He goes on to say, “The present situation, which involves what appears to be an influx of students, does not meet emergency facility criteria.”

Trawin encourages TRU to come up with a solution that would abide by the building code, such as appropriate modular structures.

TRU’s proposed housing would be built in this parking lot. (Image Credit: CFJC Today)