Minister of Transportation rejects UBCM meeting with Anmore council over David Avenue Connector

B.C. Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Rob Fleming denied Anmore council’s request for a meeting over the controversial David Avenue Connector.

On June 4, Anmore council resolved to request the meeting at UBCM’s annual convention, which starts Sept. 16, over access concerns into their community.

But the ministry confirmed to the Dispatch on Sept. 10 they had turned down the offer, stating they had: “no jurisdiction over development decisions with municipalities.”

Port Moody-Coquitlam MLA Rick Glumac clarified the province’s position, arguing it would not be appropriate for it to override past municipal decisions.

“People love Bert Flinn Park,” Glumac said. “If the neighboring municipality has clearly made a decision . . . that needs to be respected.”

The now defunct right-of-way connecting David Avenue to Sunnyside Road could add a third access point into the Village of Anmore, which currently has several major developments in-stream.

These include Icona Properties’ Anmore South project, which has proposed building 3,300 homes over 150 acres on the Ioco lands bordering Port Moody.

The David Avenue Connector had been on the books since the 1980s as a potential option to relieve traffic along Ioco Road, which is near capacity, but Port Moody council took that option off the table in 2020.

Several members of Port Moody’s former council campaigned on “saving” Bert Flinn Park, and the right-of-way was dedicated as parkland in 2020 by a narrowly decided vote.

Anmore council has long taken issue with this decision. Mayor John McEwen wrote Port Moody council a letter after the vote, urging reconsideration. 

He said the connector road was intended to service growth in Port Moody, Anmore and Belcarra, and Anmore council was never given an opportunity to provide comment, disregarding a 2015 memorandum of understanding between the two municipalities.

Reversing the former Port Moody council’s decision would require a community referendum, an option that was preferred by current Port Moody Mayor Meghan Lahti and Coun. Diana Dilworth during the 2020 vote.

Regardless, Glumac said the province has no interest in intervening in a conflict between two municipalities.

He said the Anmore South development is in the “very early stages,” and suggesting the province step in to support a project with road infrastructure would be a “bit of a cart-before-the-horse situation.”

Glumac noted the province is focused on getting housing built around transit hubs, where the infrastructure can support greater densities.

“Maybe it’s not the most appropriate place to have a development of that size,” Glumac said. “You have to have the infrastructure in place to support development, that’s like a key thing.”