A pause in planning for a major development in Anmore is giving the village an opportunity to ask residents what they want to see on the 150-acre former Ioco lands.
Currently, the property is designated a special study area. But Tuesday the village council agreed unanimously to seek a change to urban in Metro Vancouver’s regional strategy.
But nothing will happen without resident input, the village mayor says.
With Gilic Developments putting a hold on plans for between 1,400 and 1,600 residential units in up to 12- to 13-storey buildings and Metro Vancouver updating its regional plans, the time is ripe to take a closer look at what could go on the property, Mayor John McEwen told The Tri-City News.
“We’d be signalling to the developer or if they sell it to another developer what we envision seeing there,” said McEwen.
Consultation could begin as early as this fall in a combination of surveys, online consultation and even socially-distanced outdoor meetings, as was held recently so people could comment on a new village hub.
McEwen cautioned that there are no pre-conceived notions as to what should go on the site. It could be a high tech hub as was discussed over a decade ago or a commercial node with some homes, however not as many as is envisioned in the Gilic project, he said.
Metro Vancouver must also approve a change to the regional growth strategy that would see the property placed within the urban containment boundary.
Among the benefits of the change, McEwen said, would be to provide more housing options, possibly commercial and a sewer connection to the property.
The village council approved unanimously to start the application process with Metro Vancouver with more information to come.
“There’s going to be a lot of public engagement in this,” he promised.
