A $1.7-million boost to hire more staff at Coquitlam City Hall to get through the new provincial housing mandates means eight projects will now move ahead this year.
On Monday, Sept. 23, the city’s council in committee heard how the temporary employees brought in this spring and summer have helped municipal staff navigate the provincial government’s housing legislation that was introduced late last year.
As a result, half of the 16 projects in the 2024 Business Plan that council put on pause, so city staff could incorporate the provincial measures, can advance this fall:
- Climate Action Plan
- Strategic Transportation Plan
- Festival and Events Strategy
- Economic Development Competitiveness Study
- Road Safety Strategy
- Urban Forest Management Strategy
- Financial Systems Modernization
- Major Facilities Roadmap
The eight projects still on pause, and will likely be added to the 2025 Business Plan, of which the draft report will come before council at an Oct. 1 committee, are:
- Art in Public Spaces
- Fees, Rates and Charges Reviews
- Hazel/Coy Neighbourhood Plan
- Heritage Management Strategy
- Space Planning Strategy
- Blue Mountain Park
- Glen Park Phase 3 Planning
- Burke Mountain Village Planning
In her presentation, Nikki Caulfield, Coquitlam’s general manager of corporate services, said the project deferments are due to a lack of city staff as well as financial and external uncertainties caused by the provincial changes for the:
- Transit-Oriented Areas update
- Density Bonus/Affordable Housing Reserve Fund/Inclusionary Zoning restructure
- Small-Scale Multi-Unit Housing implementation
- Housing Needs Report update
- Development Cost Charge Program update
- Amenity Cost Charge Program development
'More expensive tomorrow'
Coun. Craig Hodge said the “out of the blue” provincial legislation has had major impacts on B.C. municipalities and he heard many complaints from delegates at last week’s Union of BC Municipalities convention.
Still, he’s disappointed with Coquitlam staff’s shortlist for projects, questioning why the much-awaited Hazel–Coy Neighbourhood and Heritage plans are stalled.
Caulfield said only the most urgent priorities in the 2024 Business Plan are moving forward, and the Hazel and Heritage projects require attention from the planning and development department, which remains bogged down with the legislation.
“We couldn’t add any more at this time to the planning workload,” city manager Raul Allueva said.
Hodge also pressed for action on the Blue Mountain Park master plan and the Glen Park Phase 3 plan; however, Lanny Englund, Coquitlam’s general manager of parks, said the financial waters are too murky to proceed as frameworks are not in place.
“Any delays are only going to cost us more money,” Hodge warned. “It’s going to be more expensive tomorrow.”
Coun. Dennis Marsden, who said he reviewed the staff report with former councillor Terry O’Neill, also urged city staff to push ahead with the Heritage Management Strategy to protect old buildings on lots that — under the new provincial legislation — can now have up to four homes.
Coun. Robert Mazzarolo suggested the city will see more municipal project delays over the next six months with the provincial election taking place in October.
He and Coun. Brent Asmundson said taxpayers’ anger about the project delays should be directed at the provincial government — not municipal staff.
“They made a mess out of the housing legislation,” Asmundson said of the province. “They’ve not helped; they’ve hurt the delivery of housing and slowed it down.”
Information sessions
Meanwhile, the city is hosting two information sessions next month for landowners and developers to learn more about Small-Scale Multi-Unit Housing. They are on:
- Thursday, Oct. 3 from 5 to 8 p.m.
- Town Centre Park Community Centre, 1207 Pinetree Way
- Wednesday, Oct. 9 from 5 to 8 p.m.
- Coquitlam Bettie Allard YMCA, 555 Emerson St.
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