Burke Mountain townhouse zoning gets final approval

Coquitlam council unanimously approved new zoning intended to clear the way for a 292-unit townhouse project on Burke Mountain.

The area was previously zoned as a spot for low-density residential and an environmentally sensitive area.

Council gave the proposal third reading in 2024 before issuing final approval to the Crouch Avenue proposal on Monday evening – despite qualms about the lack of childcare.

Development company Wesbild is set to pay the city approximately $14.2 million in development cost charges and community amenity contributions, as well as cash in lieu of childcare.

Burke Mountain is shaping up to be a childcare desert, cautioned Coun. Brent Asmundson.

“It’s probably going to be the area with the least amount of childcare . . . per the population,” he said Monday, asking city staff to work with Wesbild to find childcare in the development.

According to a previous city staff report, approximately 167 children would live in the townhouses, requiring 55 childcare spaces.

A prior discussion on the rezoning of three lots on the 3600-block of Crouch Avenue centred on the planned creek realignment.

The site is divided by Fox Creek. Wesbild is set to realign a tributary and build two new culvert crossings.

One neighbour expressed concern about the realignment threatening the riparian area, which teams with life including frogs and crayfish.

The realignment of the creek, which is set to be accompanied with new plantings, should allow swifter and safer passage for Fox Creek fish, according to staff. The pond and most of the surrounding area should also be retained, staff stated.

This Crouch Avenue townhouse project would also mean a new street that would extend Pollard Street as well as new trails, some private and some public, and crossings along Fox Creek.

The development would also come with extended water and storm sewer services, according to a city staff report.