B.C. Housing Minister sides with Port Moody’s MLA over letter-writing spat with mayor

Provincial leadership has sided with Port Moody’s MLA in a battle of letters written over the controversial Coronation Park development.

NDP representative, Rick Glumac, was heavily criticized by the mayor and a developer after he wrote a 350-word letter to council in late September appealing for more affordable units in exchange for a parking reduction just prior to a public hearing.

Mayor Meghan Lahti wrote a lengthy response to Premier David Eby, essentially telling Glumac to butt out and requesting the party rein in their member.

The short rebuttal penned by Minister of Housing Ravi Kahlon sided entirely with Glumac.

“Members of the Legislative Assembly can and should advocate for issues in their communities as part of their role,” Kahlon said. “Generally speaking, I would encourage the City of Port Moody, as well as other communities, to consider lowering their parking requirements near transit as a way to obtain affordable housing units.”

Wesgroup Properties’ Coronation Park is the largest development in Port Moody’s history, and has been approved by council with zero affordable units out of the 2,587 total.

The development is also slated to have 2,845 parking stalls and will be located directly adjacent to the Inlet Centre SkyTrain Station.

Glumac’s letter suggested the city should try to negotiate a reduction of parking stalls in exchange for affordable housing.

On Sept. 26, the province released its five-year housing targets for 10 Lower Mainland municipalities, one of which was Port Moody, requiring it to build 1,694 units, 42 percent of which need to be rentals, and 14 percent offered at below market rates.

Glumac said the city is already on progress to meet its provincial housing targets in terms of in-stream developments but should focus on meeting its affordable housing targets.

“While expediency of housing approvals is critically important we also know that opportunities like this are limited and should be carefully considered to ensure housing supply meets the full spectrum of housing needs,” Glumac wrote

Glumac’s points are similar to Port Moody Coun. Haven Lurbiecki’s arguments – who also happens to his wife – against moving the Coronation Park forward. Lurbiecki has been alone on council in opposition to the project.

Lurbiecki has argued the city has already allowed a 266 parking stall reduction to the developer and has received nothing in return. 

She has claimed the variance could have netted the city potentially $26 million towards affordable housing.

Brad Jones, Wesgroup vice president, was the first to respond to Glumac, stating his suggestion was surprising and “disappointing.”

He said taking away parking stalls would require more money to be paid to Port Moody and adding more density would cause non-compliance with the city’s OCP, which would cause further delays.

Jones has frequently discussed the project cannot handle any more delays due to higher interest rates and construction costs.

“Given your expressed interest in providing affordable housing for the community, I would have expected this letter from you in January 2021, when the previous city council voted to eliminate 175 below-market rental units from an earlier version of this proposal,” he wrote.

The former council’s move to remove affordable housing from the project was in exchange for less density, and was followed by the creation of a new inclusionary zoning policy in 2022.

The new policy required high-density developments to provide a minimum of 15 percent below market units. It passing met by criticism by Wesgroup, which alleged Port Moody was “moving the goalposts.”

These requirements have been sidestepped through a clause in the policy, which allows the affordable component to be substituted by significant amenities.

Lahti’s letter to Eby was sent on Oct. 12, and included numerous complaints against the MLA, claiming he was meddling in the city’s efforts to reach the province’s housing targets.

She alleged the letter could potentially cause “unnecessary fear and doubt,” contained “inflated and unrealistic information,” adding Glumac showed a “lack of understanding and an unwillingness to respect the process to date.”

Glumac is “well aware” the project has already suffered numerous delays, and the first residents won’t move in until at least 2028, Lahti said.

“While every resident has the right to provide their views on City initiatives and land use changes, in his letter MLA Glumac appears to be speaking on behalf of government in this instance, directly involving himself in local matters as a provincial representative, which potentially could have further delayed this rezoning application,” she said.

Lahti added the project has undergone numerous financial analyses, and the developer has signed a letter of intent committing to affordable housing units at later phases of development. 

Following passing rezoning on Oct. 3, further controversy has arisen following an allegation of an illegal meeting between the developer and a majority of council following the October 2022 election.

The allegation was made by opponents during a public hearing, and led to Lurbiecki walking out of the meeting prior to the rezoning vote.

Lahti and other councillors have dismissed any illegality, stating the meeting was simply a tour of another development site.