Nine years after it was considered for high-density residential next to a new SkyTrain, the redevelopment of Port Moody’s Coronation Park neighbourhood is a small step closer.
But council’s approval to amend the official community plan (OCP) for the area comes with a huge catch.
The developer, Vancouver-based Wesgroup Properties, will now have to assure that at least 15 per cent of the 2,665 units being proposed will be affordable housing when it applies for rezoning of the 14.8-acre site.
The proviso, championed by Coun. Hunter Madsen would bring the project in line with a new inclusionary zoning policy endorsed by council just a week earlier.
The policy — for any new multi-unit development with a density of greater than 2.0 floor area ratio (FAR) — requires a minimum of 15 per cent of units be below-market rentals or at least six per cent be non-market rental units.
(Floor area ratio is the relationship between the usable floor area in a building to the gross area of the lot where it’s built.)
Evan French, senior development manager for Wesgroup Properties, told the Tri-City News the company’s proposal should be grandfathered out of the new inclusionary zoning policy that was endorsed by council on April 19, as it’s already well into the approval process.
While the policy is not intended to apply to projects already before the city, Port Moody’s general manager of community development, Kate Zanon, told councillors because Wesgroup has yet to apply for rezoning for its Coronation Park project, it would have to comply.
French said Wesgroup’s rezoning application would already be well underway were it not for earlier dithering by council that included a reworking of the proposal to reconfigure the site but was ultimately rejected, along with an error that resulted in a three-week delay to the public hearing into the OCP amendment.
“We have been trying to prepare a rezoning application for submission with earnestness,” French said.
“But with all the various changes requested by council at all of the meetings in front of us, we have not been able to progress a rezoning application as the goalposts continued to shift.”
Earlier, Wesgroup’s senior vice-president of development, Brad Jones, said the company expects to submit its rezoning application “soon.”
He suggested amenities like an affordable housing component could be negotiated during the rezoning process.
But, Jones added, they would likely come at the expense of additional density or other proposed amenities such as seniors housing, a pedestrian overpass linking the neighbourhood to the Inlet SkyTrain station or a community amenity space that would be operated and programmed by the city.
“All of these items are choices for the city,” Jones said, adding the company would continue working with funding partners to explore affordable housing options.
Public hearing
The vote to allow Wesgroup’s proposal to proceed to the next step came early Wednesday morning, April 27, after a public hearing that lasted almost four hours.
A large majority of speakers expressed support for the project that would be comprised of:
• six towers up to 31 storeys
• a rental building and office space
• a 9,500 sq. ft. daycare that can accommodate 90 to 120 children
• a 2,000 to 4,000 sq. ft. city-owned amenity space
• 76,000 sq. ft. of retail space, including a grocery store
• 2.53- acre public park
Some residents who live in the 59 single-family homes that currently comprise the neighbourhood implored council to give its assent, so they could finalize sales agreements for their properties to Wesgroup.
In 2017, Coronation Park was designated as a uture multi-family neighbourhood, including high-rise towers, under Port Moody’s OCP.
“For the past few years, it’s really held our future in your hands,” said one homeowner. “It’s been difficult.”
Opponents said the project is too dense and offers little to address the city’s lack of affordable housing options.
But the project’s architect, Alan Boniface — who grew up in Port Moody — said the project, with its central park, proximity to transit and dynamic mix of residential, commercial and office spaces, would become a “cherished space” in the city.
“It is a world-class project,” he said.
Not all councillors were convinced.
“We may be making the most unfortunate urban planning mistake in the history of Port Moody,” Madsen said.
Coun. Steve Milani said he’d favour a more “quaint update to the neighbourhood” comprised of townhomes, secondary suites and carriage houses.
In the end, only Madsen and Milani voted against adoption of the OCP amendment after Port Moody Mayor Rob Vagramov reversed his opposition at third reading, saying he didn’t want to stand in the project’s way forward at this early stage.
“Let’s get on with it,” he said.
