COQUITLAM NEWS
Authorized by official agent for Bonita Zarrillo
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2019 TRICITYNEWS.COM
A New Deal for People
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BonitaZarrillo.ndp.ca bonita.zarrillo@ndp.ca 3032 St Johns St, Port Moody 604-495-9630 @bonitazarrillo BonitaZarrilloNDP
DEVELOPMENT AROUND SKYTRAIN
Oakdale residents looking to future Some residents say density needed to up housing supply
Coquitlam winds down QNet corp., keeps biz
GARY McKENNA gmckenna@tricitynews.com
More housing is coming to Coquitlam’s Oakdale neighbourhood but how much density should be added is still up for debate among residents. Three options were presented at an open house Saturday, ranging from detached homes and low-rise apartments (Option 1) to townhouses and transitvillage commercial (Option 3). According to Maria Mastromonaco, who has lived in the neighbourhood for 18 years, enthusiasm for the changes varies depending on what sub-area a person resides in. Homeowners in A and B, which are closest to SkyTrain and stand to see the biggest density increases, tend to support the changes, while those further away in E and F are more reticent, she said. Mastromonaco and her partner, Bruno Gasbarro, live in sub-area D and are unsure how they feel about seeing their neighbourhood significantly altered with new development. They have raised their children in Oakdale and have concerns about parking and the impact construction will have on livability. “Everyone’s feeling is it
GRANT GRANGER ggranger@tricitynews.com
Jack Bi expresses his preference for densification by placing a sticker on one of the many options presented at the land-use designation update for the Oakdale neighbourhood, one of the oldest neighbourhoods in Coquitlam. STEFAN LABBé/ThE Tri-CiTy NEwS
will inevitably be developed,” Mastromonaco said during last Saturday’s open house at the Mediated Learning Academy. “What is the best thing for each family?” If the land use changes go ahead, she said she is not sure they will stay in their home. “It is so hard to say,” she said. “We are just going with the flow.” Nicola and Ian Dowdall are firmly in the camp that wants greater density in the area. They said they have kids who grew up in Oakdale and, given the Lower Mainland real estate market, they will
struggle to stay in the area if more housing options, like apartments and townhouses, are not permitted. “I know they are going to struggle getting into the market and if I can help them with that by going through this process, then, yeah, it is good for everyone,” Ian Dowdall told The Tri-City News. The Dowdalls acknowledge the potential financial windfall should the potential density on their property significantly increase. As homeowners in sub-area B — a street that under Option 3 would go from
detached housing to highdensity residential — they stand to make a nice return on their investment if the property is upzoned, they said. “You can double your money on the property depending on the density,” Ian Dowdall said. “So there is definitely a financial incentive for people to do this but that doesn’t necessarily mean it is the wrong thing to do.” Ingrid and Jack Bi live in sub-area D and support Option 3, and said they love the neighbourhood and want to open it up to more residents
The city of Coquitlam is dissolving the corporation it set up more than a decade ago to increase and speed up traffic on the information highway but that doesn’t mean the distribution vehicle is being parked. The Coquitlam Optical Network Corporation, branded QNet, was established in 2008 to take advantage of the extra capacity on the city’s fibre-optic cable network. QNet was created with a $4.95 million loan from the city with the intention of providing the high-speed technology to businesses. In 2018, QNet generated $828,000 in revenue, with the surplus reducing the net debt it owed the city from $4.64 million in 2017 to $4.39 million. QNet’s financial report to council in April made a “conservative” estimate of the loan and interest charges being repaid to the city by 2027. But the corporation, whose board of directors and officers are all city employees, has decided to dissolve and turn its operations, agreements, assets and liabilities over to the city to run in-house. “We currently have a board of directors that technically manages it, but it isn’t a very good governance structure,” Mayor Richard Stewart told The Tri-City News.
More on this story: tricitynews.com who, like them, want to start out owning a townhouse or apartment before moving to a detached home. “We have been through the toughness of trying to own a property,” said Jack Bi. “If we can provide more options to the next generation, I will be happy.”
The city has been consulting with the public on the land use designation update, which they said will guide development in the Oakdale area for the next 25 years. Residents can weigh in at www.coquitlam.ca/oakdale until Sept. 30. – with files from Stefan Labbé
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CITIZEN BUDGET SURVEY
Share Your Input on Commercial Zones in Coquitlam
Last chance to have your say on Coquitlam’s Budget! Your feedback on City spending and service levels will help inform our 2020 financial planning process. Answer the survey today – last day is Sept. 30. Visit coquitlam.ca/budget
Coquitlam is conducting a review of commercial zones to make them more user-friendly and flexible, easier to administer, and more responsive to the changing needs of Coquitlam’s business community.
We want to hear from you! Commercial property owners, business owners and members of the public are invited to complete a short survey about how we can improve commercial zones in Coquitlam.
Visit coquitlam.ca/commercialzones to learn more and provide your input. Survey closes Oct. 1, 2019. | coquitlam.ca/commercialzones