Council backs five-storey storage near Cat and Fiddle

Despite some concerns around long shadows and a parking shortfall, Port Coquitlam unanimously voted to advance a five-storey warehouse/storage facility beside the Cat and Fiddle Pub.

While the majority of speakers at Tuesday’s public hearing backed the project, praising the Cat and Fiddle owners and arguing the storage space was much needed, a few residents suggested the projected was oversized.

Nick Oxley, who runs an area business, said his shop would be “dwarfed” by the project.

“We are going to have no sunlight for the majority of the day,” he said.

The 81,000 square foot facility is set to be 77 feet tall.

While providing “minimal” jobs, the business would impact area businesses and homeowners as drivers search for parking, Oxley said.

An analysis showed any shadowing would fall on the pub and brewery patio, responded Cat and Fiddle owner Randy Doncaster.

“We thought this would be the least impact on the neighbourhood,” he said, pledging the storage company would be a nine-to-five business.

Given the importance of parking for the pub, there’s no reason to think the owners would shoot themselves in the foot with the development, said Coun. Darrell Penner.

“The amount of traffic that’s going to be generated from this particular site is not anything that I would be concerned with,” he said.

Penner emphasized the need to densify and guard against urban sprawl.

“We’re going to have to do this in all our industrial sites,” he said. “That’s really the future.”

While he previously expressed concerns over the parking issue, Coun. Steve Darling said he was persuaded by the amount of area parking not included in the application.

Combined, the warehouse and the pub would provide 93 parking spots – 15 fewer than the city’s requirement. However, there is a nearby row of parking stalls, Darling noted.

The project requires a development permit before construction can begin.