Port Moody says it needs more time to craft a detailed response to a request from the Village of Anmore for comment on the proposed development of a 150-acre property at the corner of 1st Avenue and Sunnyside Road.
The project, by developer Icona Properties, would see the construction of up to 2,200 new homes that could triple the village’s current population of about 2,500.
But a staff memo to be presented to Port Moody council at its meeting Tuesday, March 25, said several technical documents that would detail the proposal’s impact on traffic, transportation infrastructure, water, sewer and storm water systems as well as surrounding watersheds and ecosystems, aren’t yet ready for the city to review. As a result, it’s seeking council approve a resolution requesting a 60-day extension to Anmore’s March 26 deadline for submission of its comments.
A preliminary draft letter indicates several areas of concern.
They include:
- the need for a new agreement that would allow the new development as well as the rest of Anmore to connect to the regional sewer system that currently ends at Port Moody and had to be previously amended to allow a connection to the 51-unit Anmore Green Estates housing complex after its septic field failed in 2017
- clarification on how the new development will receive water and potential impacts on a 2018 agreement with Port Moody that connects Anmore to the city’s water system
- traffic congestion on Ioco and East roads, and its knock-on effects on Port Moody’s master transportation plan to increase the number of daily trips in the city made by walking, cycling and transit to 40 per cent in the next five years
- potential impacts to environmentally sensitive areas, fish habitats, wetlands, wildlife corridors as well as Port Moody’s streams and forested areas
“Staff will require some time to review and analyze the impacts of the proposed changes before providing complete comments,” said the draft letter.
In February, Anmore council approved an engagement plan for Icona’s development proposal that includes consultation with neighbouring communities, First Nations, TransLink, Metro Vancouver, Fraser Health, BC Ambulance, RCMP, the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority as well as village residents.
The proposal, that also includes a recreation centre as well as a small commercial strip, received first reading of amendments required to the village’s official community plan in December 2023.
But the project’s initial scale that anticipated up to 3,300 new homes was reduced by a third last November when Anmore council approved a more modest neighbourhood plan that includes a mix of townhomes, low-rise apartments and single-family houses on small lots, along with space for a park, commercial area and recreation centre.
While Icona cautioned the lower density would require the recreation centre to operate as a private club primarily for residents of the new development, council said it would pursue a potential partnership with School District 43 to make it available to everyone in the community.
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