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Letter: Latest Suter Brook plan would be big

The Editor, Re. “Port Moody needs a density discussion” (Letters, The Tri-City News, Jan. 17).
suter brook

The Editor,

Re. “Port Moody needs a density discussion” (Letters, The Tri-City News, Jan. 17).

There has been some discussion recently about the relative density of population per square kilometre in Port Moody compared to other communities. Around 1,300/sq. km for Port Moody versus 5,000 plus for Vancouver. (It should be understood that these numbers are averages and there are pockets of low and pockets of high.)

So how does 50,000-plus/sq. km sound? Ridiculous, right?

But that is the ratio that Port Moody council is considering for Parcel D, the last piece of the Suter Brook development.

This would be achieved by squeezing another highrise onto what has already been approved for this minuscule property and justified by quoting the need for higher density and rental units adjacent to SkyTrain stations. To give you another idea of the scale, it is like planning to have up to 1,000 people living on a piece of property the size of the town hall complex. Laughable but not funny, really.

Now here comes the interesting bit. Council has already been down that road in other developments, where they have approved multiple highrises but with a minimum 60 m spacing.

So if the thinking is that 60 m is appropriate, why half that spacing in Suter Brook?

In addition to all the problems associated with such extreme high density, such as strain on local services, safety, traffic, hospitals, etc., the introduction of such a huge amount of concrete “massing” is entirely foreign to the existing village design and the original architectural plans.

The residents in Suter Brook already live in a higher than average density area but are content with it. They understand the wish for more housing, including rentals, and have accepted what has already been approved for the land. I have not heard a single complaint concerning rental units being part of the deal in the current approved zoning.

So council, why are you trying to create a concrete canyon, traffic-blocked town? Look at what you have already achieved in Suter Brook. Do not discriminate with double standards.

Help us maintain the quality of life that makes Port Moody such a great place in which to live.

Jim Allan, Port Moody