Port Coquitlam residents can have their say this month on a controversial bid to put a Starbucks drive-through at a busy northside intersection.
On Monday, city council voted 4-3 in favour of rezoning 1475 Prairie Ave. and sending the proposal to a public hearing at its next meeting, Oct. 26.
Since the spring, the application has bounced between council and city committees — and generated hours of discussion from councillors, staff and tenants at the strip mall, located at the northeast corner of Prairie Avenue and Coast Meridian Road.
At issue is how the potential drive-through would impact traffic, especially as more homes are built at the top of Coast Meridian, on Coquitlam's Burke Mountain.
On one side of the debate are councillors Brad West, Dean Washington and Laura Dupont, who warn a Starbucks drive-through would create snarl-ups along the corridor — specifically at the southbound left-turn lane into the strip mall.
But Mayor Greg Moore and councillors Darrell Penner, Glenn Pollock (chair of the city's smart growth committee) and Mike Forrest contend, while there may be jams during peak commuting hours, road improvements could be made in the future.
City staff are proposing the applicant, Harvest Development, provide a letter of credit to the municipality to secure funding should barriers be needed.
Harvest wants to fill the brick-facade building that's been sitting empty since CIBC left three years ago. Mall tenants have also told council the loss of the bank branch has impacted their businesses with fewer customers visiting the strip mall.
In other PoCo news:
WAIVE TAX
A church that has yet to build its new place of worship is expected to get another tax break next year.
The Foursquare Gospel Church of Canada, of which Mayor Greg Moore is a member, plans to construct a church in the new Fremont Village.
Last year, it received a $20,000 permissive exemption for its church property at 2329 Fremont Connector.
And on Monday, city council gave three readings to a bylaw to waive the 2016 municipal taxes, estimated at $56,461.
NEW STAFF
Port Coquitlam has a new recreation director.
Lori Bowie, who was introduced to city council on Monday, takes over from long-time manager Barry Becker, who retired this summer.
A sessional instructor at UBC's School of Kinesiology, Bowie previously worked as the city of Surrey's healthy communities manager and as a fitness specialist with the city of Burnaby.
Under PoCo's revised corporate structure, Bowie will head up the recreation department while Kristen Meersman, director of engineering and operations, is in charge of parks.
Meanwhile, the city has also appointed a new records and FOIPPA (Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act) administrator.
The job, which was previously handled by city clerk Braden Hutchins, was filled this past summer to handle the 50-plus FOI requests the city receives a year; under provincial legislation, each FOI file must be responded to within 30 business days (FOI requests can be done online via portcoquitlam.ca).
Besides managing the corporate office, Hutchins' role now includes the city land management portfolio.
