A massive housing development is in the works for the base of Coquitlam’s Burke Mountain, on sloped land north of the Deboville Slough.
Last night (Sept. 20), council unanimously OK’d first bylaw readings for the Polygon bid to proceed to public hearing on Oct. 18 at 7 p.m. at city hall.
Its application calls for 148 townhomes in 41 buildings in the first phase of development, on five Victoria Drive lots as well as on two parcels along Cedar Drive and on part of two unconstructed roads that the city will sell for $2.5 million.
And unlike other multi-family proposals that have come before council, its bid is for bigger units: 42 three-bedroom and 105 four-bedroom homes.
Polygon’s plan for the 33-acre site also calls for a clubhouse, a north-south public trail next to Star Creek that links Victoria and Cedar drives, and a public path that will connect the Star Creek trail to Knoll Park, in the Partington Creek neighbourhood.
If approved by council, the housing development would be built on land that slopes down by 174 feet; it would also be dependent on the city’s Cedar Drive Upgrade Capital Project — a $16.5-million infrastructure program that’s currently underway.
According to a city staff report, Polygon will plant 525 replacement trees, and a new collector road to join Victoria with Cedar Drive will go in.
Notifications about the housing proposal went up in March 2020, while letters were also mailed to neighbours in April 2020. Among the feedback were concerns about the ongoing construction in the area, potential loss of wildlife habitat and future road alignments. As well, the city logged complaints about increased traffic volumes and safety.
Coun. Brent Asmundson, a Burke Mountain resident, told council that the neighbourhood is largely zoned for townhomes and he asked for future provisions for daycares.
“How do we acquire the necessary childcare — with all of this townhousing — to satisfy the needs that are going to be in that area?” he asked, while Coun. Craig Hodge questioned if the parking was enough, given the ongoing challenges for Burke homeowners.
If approved following the public hearing, the city would receive about $3.4 million in development cost charges for Phase 1 of the housing project, and $1.7 million in voluntary community amenity contributions (for all phases) from Polygon.
In an email to the Tri-City News today (Sept. 21), Andrew Merrill, Coquitlam’s director of development services, wrote that “the application is consistent with the land use designations in the Partington Creek Neighbourhood Plan and the applicant has proposed a good number of family-sized three- and four-bedroom townhomes in their first phase, plus an extension of the city’s trail network along Star Creek, which will be a nice addition to the neighbourhood.”
CHURCH UPGRADES
Meanwhile, council on Monday granted a heritage alteration permit to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver to update the oldest church in the city: Our Lady of Lourdes.
According to a city staff report, the permit is for the replacement of the main west-facing entry staircase with a new storage space below, and a new front gable entry canopy above.
Built in 1938, the church in Laval Square replaced the original building that burned down in 1912 — two years after it went up; a second church (now Ste. Anne’s Hall) was constructed in 1912 and was used until enough money was raised to build the current parish church.
Located in the heart of the French-Canadian enclave, the church is listed as a primary building in the Maillardville Heritage Inventory and was designated as a heritage site along with Ste. Anne’s Hall.
