Residents to get closer look at transformative Anmore South proposal

Now that the broad strokes are established, it’s time to get some fine detail on the 152-acre Anmore South proposal.

Icona Properties has proposed building about 3,300 new homes on the land over a span of 25 years.

On Tuesday, Anmore council directed staff to draft terms of reference for a neighbourhood plan that would involve a series of community workshops, open houses and surveys on Icona’s proposal. However, Coun. Doug Richardson had a few questions about who would be in charge.

“I worry about the chicken and the dog and the egg and the tail,” Richardson said. “If it’s proponent-led . . . I’m still on the side that I think Anmore residents should get to decide.”

While Icona will do the work they will remain under the auspices of village staff, noted Coun. Polly Krier.

“The word ‘proponent-led’ is about as accurate as ‘affordable housing,’” Krier said. “They take direction from us.”

Set to be submitted for council’s approval in early spring, the terms of reference would cover concrete details of the proposal including the order in which the development would be built, how ecologically sensitive areas would be protected, and what the commercial element would look like.

Village staff maintained council would have the final say but Richardson wasn’t entirely convinced.

“It doesn’t feel completely right to me,” he said. “I think we should do an [Official Community Plan] review, completely from scratch, and then fold in . . . the neighbourhood plan.”

There will likely be a good deal of negotiation and discussion as the proposal winds through the development process, said Coun. Kim Trowbridge.

The neighbourhood plan should help residents envision exactly what’s being proposed, he said.

“At no time does the village lose its power and authority to say what it wants and to approve what it wants,” Trowbridge said. “I’m hoping that we can keep this peanut moving forward by contemplating the OCP amendment in concert with the development of the neighbourhood plan.”

Trowbridge explained the importance of moving past labels.

“I think the word ‘urban’ scares the pants off of people,” Trowbridge said. “’Rural’ doesn’t protect anything and ‘urban’ doesn’t cause anything to happen.”

Trowbridge reiterated the importance of doing something on the 152 acres in question.

“I’m absolutely in staunch opposition to seeing more multi-million dollar mansions that actually don’t create a positive cash flow for our tax base.”

Mayor John McEwen concurred.

“I don’t want to see one-acre estates down on this site,” he said. “This is private property. It will be developed.”

Current development on the 152-acre parcel is limited to approximately 1.5 lots per acre.

Regarding the neighbourhood plan, McEwan said he was hoping to get more details on the financial and traffic impacts associated with the development.

Council voted unanimously to have staff prepare terms of reference.

The plan is set to include an inventory of the site as well as future street plans. Once approved by council, the community consultation process is expected to take several months.

Icona Properties’ proposal consists of single-family houses, duplexes, multi-family townhomes, mid-rise apartments, as well as apartments perched over ground floor commercial units.

An estimated 15 percent of the new units would be rentals, and about 20 percent of those rentals – or three percent of the total – would be below market, according to a village staff report.

Approximately 40 percent of the forested area would be preserved and 47 percent of the new neighbourhood would consist of: “parks, greenways and natural areas,” according to a city staff report.

Burrard Inlet Marine Enhancement Society president Kevin Ryan recently warned of the project’s possible environmental impact.

“If approved, this development will negatively impact the abundant wildlife, healthy riparian area and overall natural integrity of the area,” Ryan wrote.

Related: Environmental stewardship group opposed Anmore South development