Residents’ letters criticizing Coquitlam city hall about the lack of consultation on a mega-project at the Burnaby and New Westminster borders were predictable, a councillor said this month.
Coun. Robert Mazzarolo flagged the citizens’ concerns about the lack of civic outreach and the future infrastructure needed for the master-planned community that Wesgroup is proposing on its 7.84-acre parcel along the eastern side of North Road, south of Austin Avenue.
Currently occupied by the Cariboo Centre strip mall and Denny’s Restaurant, the site at 435-465 North Rd. and 500 Austin Ave. will have six towers that include homes for about 5,000 residents plus retail space, two child-care facilities and a publicly accessible plaza.
Council unanimously gave first, second and third bylaw readings to the rezoning bid on Jan. 13, with Mazzarolo sounding off at the provincial government about changing the legislation in late 2023 to speed up housing development.
Twice, Mazzarolo urged residents to call their MLA about the new rules surrounding home building.
On the topic of infrastructure, like roads and sewers, Mazzarolo blamed the province for not providing municipalities with extra money to support the additional housing, and he also pointed out local governments aren’t responsible for building schools and hospitals.
“You just can’t put people in a spot and not give them the services they are going to need to live a meaningful life — and the province just has completely missed the latter part of that statement,” Mazzarolo said.
As for no consultation, he said, “I’m sorry. The province said they don’t want to hear from you. They eliminated public hearings for applications that meet OCPs. It’s a mistake, a terrible mistake. It will not build public support for more housing. It will do the opposite, quite frankly.”
(OCP is short for Official Community Plan.)
Still, Mayor Richard Stewart said the city plans more parks for the Lower Lougheed neighbourhood — a component that’s within the municipality’s jurisdiction.
Like Mazzarolo, Stewart said Coquitlam city hall is doing what it can to follow the new housing legislation, but “the province is a barrier to the development of housing because they don’t know what they’re doing.”
For months, Coquitlam city council has flagged the lack of guidance from B.C.'s housing ministry staff and the volume of work needed to change local policies to comply with the new housing mandates.
On Jan. 27, Coquitlam city council called on the province to allow a three-year extension — until June 30, 2028 — to continue using the density bonus tool for developers to pay for community amenities in exchange for higher density; the province says it is reviewing the deadline, as outlined in Bill 16, that requires municipalities to transition to amenity cost charges (ACC) and density “benefits.”
Coun. Teri Towner said she’s pleased Wesgroup will stick with the city’s current financial framework and policies for development. Coquitlam’s existing formula allows for residential parking while the provincial rules offer little to no parking options for new Tier 2 projects, near public transit hubs like the Lougheed SkyTrain station.
As for having no public hearings on OCP-compliance bids, “it’s a reality that we’ve been dealt,” she shrugged.
Stewart described the Wesgroup bid “a good and important proposal for our community.”
Should council grant fourth and final bylaw reading, the Wesgroup project will bring in:
- $59 million in development cost charges
- $66 million in density bonuses
- including $7.3 million to the Affordable Housing Reserve Fund
- $5.4 million in community amenity contributions
- $2.7 million for transportation demand management measures
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