Stories from Tri-City News headlines of decades past will be a reoccurring feature as the publication approaches its 40th anniversary in 2024.
The early 1990s was a time of enthusiasm for building golf courses in the Tri-Cities.
Not only was the Westwood Plateau Golf and Country Club under construction and opened in late 1995 but in June 1991, another golf course was proposed for the Cedar Drive area of Coquitlam.
Called Minnekhada Flats, the golf course was proposed for an area near Minnekhada Regional Park.
In a report in the June 23, 1991, edition of the Tri-City News, it was noted that 60 residents showed up to hear the details of the $5-million proposal for a 60-acre site on Cedar Drive adjacent to Minnekhada Farms.
“The project was politely received with few vocal opponents from the northeast residents,” the Tri-City News stated at the time.
At 4,600 yards, the golf course was to be a short course to allow quicker rounds and would have a seven-acre driving range, a 50-seat lounge, a pro-shop, meeting rooms and parking for 207 cars.
The proponent stated that it would adhere to the highest environmental standards.
Concerns were raised about how sewage would be dealt with, and a pump truck was proposed, until a possible sewage connection with Port Coquitlam mains a kilometre away.
However, the reporter stated that the city had put the brakes on big developments pending the review of its Official Community Plan.
The golf course developer never achieved their plan.
Today, the City of Coquitlam is in the midst of a massive sewage upgrade to the Cedar Drive to handle growth in the Burke Mountain area.
Find out more about this upgrade taking place through to 2024 on the city’s YouTube channel here.
Meanwhile, golfers with dreams of a place to tee off in Coquitlam will have to be satisfied with three local golf courses.
There is the Westwood Plateau Golf and Country Club on Westwood Plateau, which has an 18-hole championship golf course and a nine-hole executive course.
In southwestern Coquitlam, there is a nine-hole golf course at Eagle Quest off United Boulevard and, of course, the storied Vancouver Golf Club, which was established in 1910 on the site of a former sheep farm.
Among the files of the Tri-City News is coverage of Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody councils, local crime, local festivals and events similar to today's stories you'll find online and in print on Thursdays.
For a digital version of this week's paper, visit this website.
