Port Moody’s draft Official Community Plan is going before City Council on November 5, 2013. For background, please see Port Moody Official Community Plan (OCP) – Citizens’ analysis raises alarm bells, with text of recent newsletters.
Here is another quick analysis from the Moody Centre Community Association (MCCA), in their newsletter to the community.
From: MCCA PortMoody <mcca.pm@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, Nov 2, 2013 at 11:14 PM
Subject: OCP new draft to council Nov. 5, and future of Port Moody elementary schools
Dear residents,
This email is to advise you about two important community items:
- Port Moody elementary schools – and their future
- OCP draft – updated, and heading to council Nov. 5, 2013.
Port Moody elementary schools
School District 43 held an information session last Tuesday, October 29. The board is considering the future of lands at 4 schools in the district – two of them are in Port Moody: Moody elementary, and Coronation Park elementary.
The board will now hold workshops, and the first one is at Moody elementary this Wednesday, November 6, 2013. The consultation is called Learning, Land and Neighbourhoods – here is the overall link for more information: http://www.sd43.bc.ca/landmngmt/Pages/default.aspx
For information about Properties Under Consideration click here: http://www.sd43.bc.ca/landmngmt/Pages/LearnAboutPropertiesUnderConsideration.aspx
OCP – latest draft
The latest draft OCP is now available. It will be discussed this Tuesday, November 5, 2013 at 5:30 pm at city hall. There will be no public input period at the meeting. A town hall meeting might be held on November 27, 2013 pending council approval. The agenda can be picked up at city hall or the library and also viewed online here:
http://www.portmoody.ca/modules/showdocument.aspx?documentid=5894
The OCP information starts on page 101 of the agenda.
The city has now provided numbers for estimated population growth based on the draft OCP, as follows:
Projected population growth [for 2041] and district
- 3,789 – Westport (western end of Moody Centre, formerly known as Gateway)
- 955 – Heritage Commercial District
- 3,910 – Oceanfront District (the sawmill site just west of Rocky Point Park)
- 2,069 – Murray Street Boulevard
- 3,075 – Moody Centre Station Transit-Oriented Development
- _____
- 13,778 – Sub-total – all of the districts above fall within Moody Centre
- plus
- 3,594 – Inlet Centre Station Transit-Oriented Development
- _____
- 17,372 – TOTAL
The report estimates the total population of Port Moody – based on the current DRAFT OCP – at 59,000. (This is about 23,000 over 2011 population estimates of about 36,000. An additional 6,000 is unaccounted for in the above figures. Ten years ago Port Moody’s population was under 25,000.)
The growth for Moody Centre is only possible with massive development within a very small area sandwiched between the ocean and the Chines forest/undevelopable slope. It is about 2 square km in total. The area is identified as at high risk of soil liquefaction in the event of an earthquake. See map 14, Hazardous Lands, or click here, called map 13 in the existing OCP: http://www.portmoody.ca/modules/showdocument.aspx?documentid=254
The draft OCP states:
Hazardous lands are considered to be areas of the City that may be subject to land slides, debris torrents, mud flows, earthquake liquefaction, erosion, or floods. Strict control of any development in these areas is necessary to protect development from hazardous conditions. In this respect, a development permit must be approved by Council prior to any development proceeding to verify site suitability and identify any necessary safeguards. Responsibility for the safety of any development and liability arising from that development continues to rest exclusively with the property owner and not the City.
The draft OCP does not appear to have been shaped by resident feedback. It appears to be more about intensive development, especially residential.
Just one of the items residents identified as a major concern was parks and green space, and that parks are at – or over – capacity right now.
On Parks as part of Port Moody’s identity, the document states:
Public feedback received during this Official Community Plan update indicates support for preserving green space and considering higher density development in certain areas as a means of achieving this.
There is much more in the agenda package for Tuesday, November 5, including additional public feedback.
For the record, the Moody Centre Community Association is not against all forms of development. Rather, our stance has been for responsible and sustainable development.
Please feel free to forward this email.
As always, we welcome your comments and input to MCCA.
Regards,
Hazel Mason, President
Moody Centre Community Association (MCCA)
Respond: mcca.pm@gmail.com
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