PoCo laments end of public hearings as apartment gets approval
It was a hearing in public, but it was still a long way from being a public hearing.
Port Coquitlam unanimously approved a 117-unit, four-storey apartment at Shaughnessy Street and Prairie Avenue on Tuesday – although some councillors had misgivings about the lack of commentary from residents.
“The world has changed a little bit,” explained the city’s director of development services Bruce Irvine.
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Under the old rules, council debate would have followed an open forum where anyone could step up to the microphone, state their name, and offer their thoughts on the defects or merits of the proposal. However, following new provincial legislation, this project – being consistent with the city’s official community plan – didn’t include a public hearing.
It’s a change for the worse, according to Coun. Steve Darling.
“I really hope the provincial government has a change of heart on public hearings,” he said. “I think you should be able to come up and speak on a project that is in your neighbourhood. . . . You live there. They don’t live there in Victoria.”
The acrimonious nature of public hearings often leads to good projects being slowed down or stopped, according to a statement from the Ministry of Housing.
Public hearings tend to feature an over-represented group of neighbours while failing to include the voices of renters who would benefit from more housing choices, according to the ministry.
Concerned residents can still contact city staff members. However, given the extent of the housing crisis, it’s worthwhile to skip over the public hearing process for OCP-compliant projects, according to the ministry.
Darling encouraged attendees at Tuesday’s meeting – one of whom tried to speak prior to the council vote – to write to Port Coquitlam MLA Mike Farnworth.
“He will take that back to Victoria,” Darling said.
The project
Spanning seven lots, the development is set to replace five single-family houses and two duplexes. The new apartment is set to include apartments ranging from 450 to 1,012 square feet.
Unit breakdown:
- Studio units: 4
- One-bedroom: 30
- Two-bedroom: 74
- Three-bedroom: 9
At a previous meeting, Coun. Dean Washington said he was concerned this project and other nearby development would lead to “wall-to-wall cars” in the neighbourhood.
Staff examined traffic data for the surrounding area and concluded it was unnecessary to ask Polygon development company to pay for the cost of a third-party traffic study, particularly given that extra costs can be passed on to the apartment’s future residents.
The lane along the development is set to be paved and improved at Polygon’s cost, according to city staff.
The development is set to include 177 parking spots. As the project would usually require 190 stalls, Polygon is set to pay the city $320,000 in lieu of eight of those parking spots. Another five parking stalls would be forgiven as the parkade was designed around keeping a substantial Douglas fir on the site.
While the Douglas fir on the site is set to be kept, another 28 trees are set to be chopped. New trees and shrubs are set to be planted.
The developer is also set to pay the city about $343,168 for extra density on the site.
Mayor Brad West and Coun. Dean Washington did not attend the meeting.
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