Port Moody residents will soon get their chance to have a say in the city’s future growth.
An online community survey on the draft update to Port Moody’s official community plan (OCP) will go live on the city’s website Monday, April 7. It will remain open until May 4. Printed versions will also be available for pickup at city hall (100 Newport Dr.) beginning April 8 during regular business hours. They must be returned by May 2.
A draft of the updated OCP, that is a blueprint for Port Moody’s direction for the next 25 years, was released Dec. 5, 2023.
But its consideration by council as well as the community was paused two months later to give staff an opportunity to determine how the 175-page document might be impacted by new provincial housing legislation that mandates higher density development in neighbourhoods near mass transit and streamlined approval procedures.
Port Moody social planners Liam McLellan and Shareen Chin said the new rules required updates to the city’s zoning bylaws as well as the completion of a new report assessing its housing needs.
With that work now complete, Port Moody’s manager of policy planning, Mary De Paoli recommended in January a series of several information and feedback sessions through the spring to bring residents up to speed.
The first of those will be an open house on April 13, from 2 to 4 p.m. in the galleria at city hall. It will feature information boards as well as staff and consultants who can answer questions or hear feedback. Registration is required.
Subsequent engagement opportunities include:
- a town hall meeting April 16, 7 to 9 p.m. at Inlet Theatre (100 Newport Dr.)
- an online information session April 23, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
- information pop-up and self-guided walking tour of impacted neighbourhoods like Moody Centre and Inlet Center April 26, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Kyle Centre (125 Kyle St.)
- youth open house May 2, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in multi-purpose room 2 at the Port Moody recreation complex
According to a news release, the input collected from the various engagement sessions will be “considered by city staff when making recommendations and developing draft plans and strategies,” as well as by council during its consideration of the updated OCP.
A final draft of the OCP is expected to be ready in July, after a summary of all the public engagement results is prepared and presented to council in June. A public hearing will then follow, likely by late fall, prior to final adoption.
Port Moody’s current OCP was adopted in 2014 and it’s typically updated every five to 10 years.
The draft plan that was presented to council in December 2023 was already three years in the making, following workshops, surveys and community engagement.
It envisions Port Moody as a safe waterfront community of connected, complete neighourhoods that values its natural environs, heritage character, arts and culture. It also anticipates increased density in areas like the north part of Coronation Park, Westport Village, the former Flavelle cedar mill property west of Rocky Point Park, as well as the downtown area around the Moody Centre SkyTrain station and the south side of Murray Street.
Coun. Samantha Agtarap said the plan will have “long-ranging impacts on youth and their ability to stay in the community,” while Coun. Callan Morrison said it presents a bright future.
But Coun. Haven Lurbiecki said such optimism masks a bleak, dystopian cityscape where views of the water, forest and mountains are blocked by dozens of new high-rise towers, streets are gridlocked with traffic and parks as well as other amenities are overcrowded by residents seeking respite from their small apartments and condos.
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