Port Moody city staff are putting pen to paper for the early design of a new public works yard at the old landfill site off Barnet Highway.
At a closed meeting earlier this month, council directed staff to develop conceptual designs for a new works yard, possibly with an added light industrial business parcel, and to develop a public engagement plan on the proposal.
In July, the city was awarded a $1.4-million federal and provincial New Building Canada Fund grant — PoMo will pay the remaining $700,000 — to remediate the site and open it for future development.
The landfill site is zoned for industrial use and, according to a staff report, there may be enough room on the 11-hectare site for a light industrial park.
The report notes the city has considered residential options for the land but such a move would not be supported under the current zoning or the Metro Vancouver regional growth strategy.
The landfill operated on about two hectares of the property from the 1950s to 1982, after which it continued to receive green waste until it closed completely in 2002.
A proposal in 2008 to build a garbage gasification plant on the site was quashed after significant public opposition to the idea. In a public consultation the following year, the majority of respondents favoured turning the site into a park.
Staff are considering proposals to upgrade the Alfred Howe Greenway Trail that crosses part of the site, possibly with additional greenscape improvements, according to the staff report.
Results of the 2009 public consultation will be incorporated into feedback given to council after the upcoming consultations, which have yet to be scheduled.
@spayneTC
