The mayor of Port Moody says any urbanization of neighbouring Anmore would be unsustainable.
Rob Vagramov said opening the door to densification of the village would contribute to “car-centric sprawl” and the destruction of second growth forests.
Anmore is currently considering whether a 150-acre parcel of the former Ioco lands along the village’s south side should be formally designated as urban for possible redevelopment.
Village Mayor John McEwen said the redesignation is part of a long-term process that would give Anmore more options for its future, including the possibility of attracting new residents, businesses and amenities. Currently, about 2,500 people live in the rural enclave, most of them on land zoned for one-acre lots.
Vagramov said his council has been working hard to turn the tide of sustainable growth in the community, including removing the special study area designation for its portion of the Ioco lands, in Port Moody’s northwest corner, and removing the road right-of-way for a possible extension of David Avenue through Bert Flinn Park to provide a third connection to Anmore.
“Just because a town’s politicians may want to basically double their population in a way that flies in the face of practically every tenet of sustainability and urban containment, doesn’t mean they will get to,” Vagramov said, adding he’s yet to discuss the matter with Anmore Mayor John McEwen.
Meanwhile, residents along Ioco Road, one of only two access routes in and out of Anmore, are concerned any increase in the village’s density will bring more traffic than the winding, undulating two-lane thoroughfare can handle.
A spokesperson for TROPICA (The Residents of Pleasantside & Ioco Communities Association) said they hope any plan to urbanize part of Anmore will be preceded by a study to determine the impact of traffic volumes and patterns along Port Moody’s north shore waterfront.
The association conceded, though, any potential problems for residents of Port Moody’s north shore might be self-inflicted because of council’s decision last year to remove the right-of-way through Bert Flinn Park, meaning most of the traffic headed to any new development in Anmore would likely use Ioco Road.
