The Editor:
Re: Letter: Coronation Park decision a fiasco with too much council grandstanding (May 8, 2022)
Silly season is here.
In his rebuttal to Mr. Stuart's letter, Mr. Ward comes across as either gullible, or on Wesgroup's payroll.
First, the major Official Community Plan (OCP) amendment for Coronation Park was in 2017, not nine years ago.
The words "land acquisition" are not accurate; it was a time-consuming process of "land assembly" wherein agreements were made but most land titles were not bought out, which had the effect of property owners wishing to sell cooperating with the land assembler and developer to lobby city council.
A proposal "that will meet our council's vision" is not what was presented. Instead, it was extreme over-reach based on the 2017 OCP amendment.
The proposed amenities are mostly to service the needs of such a massive development, not for the benefit of Port Moody as a whole.
The seniors housing component is merely 10 per cent of the rental (about 10 units out of a total of 2,665), and it's not clear in any way what makes it stand out from standard rental housing, other than using the word "seniors."
There has been an inclusionary zoning policy in place for about two years, which Wesgroup would or should have known about. The official bylaw is recent but the interim policy is not.
It's very clear who Mr. Ward will not be supporting should they run for a council seat later this year. He's entitled to his opinion but I would sum up his letter as promotion of intense development while simultaneously criticizing some members of council.
- Hazel Mason, Port Moody
