The public threw their support behind a proposed 30-bed eating-disorder treatment centre in Davis Bay at a public hearing Wednesday night.
The site would be operated by the Looking Glass Foundation, a North Vancouver non-profit agency aiming to create Canada's first centre for treatment of adolescent eating disorders.
"We won't be taking from the medical system; we'll be adding to it," said a representative from the society. In all, four Coast residents spoke in favour, while just one was against the idea.
Many girls are "held hostage by the dynamics of their eating disorders," said Sandra Friedman, a counsellor and resident of the nearby neighbourhood. She noted there are many successful treatment centres in the United States. St. Mary's Hospital Foundation chair Bill Hubbs also spoke in support. One neighbourhood resident spoke against it, citing the over-abundance of institutional facilities, such as schools, churches and community centres, in that part of Davis Bay and the effect another institutional building would have on the neighbourhood's character.
"There's not one facility like this in Canada, and that doesn't encourage me," he added. The centre would be built at a former gravel pit location on the eastern edge of the Davis Bay community, accessible from a gravel road at the end of Davis Bay Road. The lot is bordered by Chapman Creek to the east, and a 1.5-hectare area on the west bank of the creek would be dedicated as parkland if council approves the required official community plan amendment to the Selma Park, Davis Bay and Wilson Creek neighbourhood plan.
A speaker from the Davis Bay-Wilson Creek Community Association let council know they'll continue to support the project as long as covenants on the number of beds and park use stay in place. They also asked for a limit of 15 to 18 beds. Development planner Angela Letman informed council they'll be able to pass a covenant limiting the number of beds after the public hearing.
Dr. Laird Birmingham, the foundation's medical director, said it would not likely house more than 20 patients at a time and emphasized the need for this kind of facility.
"To get [eating disorder] treatment in B.C., you have to basically be dying," he said. "As a parent, you don't want to wait until your child is nearly dying."
