Coquitlam city council pushed through some last-minute work before the summer break this week, including granting zoning for a 19-storey tower in the soon-to-be-revitalized Austin Heights neighbourhood.
The application by Beedie Living to build the landmark highrise at the corner of Blue Mountain Street and Austin Avenue came through the city's land use committee on Monday and, later that night, at city council.
But in allowing second and third bylaw readings to rezone the one-acre property where a Shell gas station used to sit, city council also put a halt to any future towers planned for the core, saying it wanted to consult with the public on how tall the buildings could be along Austin and Ridgeway avenues.
That decision was prompted by a large turnout of area residents at a public hearing in May for the Beedie tower. Some residents said they had no idea towers were part of the area redevelopment and many complained about the height of the tower, then proposed at 24 storeys, and cited as concerns potential traffic problems and shadowing over their homes.
In response, city council put the Beedie bid on hold. And last month, Beedie held an open house to hear directly from residents to gauge their appetite on the maximum tower height. The result was a five-storey drop, a reduction of about 13 m - and 39 units.
A restrictive covenant is set to be placed on title to cap the height at 59.4 m.
Under the Local Government Act, a second public hearing doesn't have to be held because Beedie is lowering the building ceiling - a move that infuriated Coun. Lou Sekora, who accused council of "side-swiping" the area residents.
"The taxpayers in that community will not trust anybody anymore, as far as politicians are concerned," Sekora said, "and I don't blame them because politicians earn it... to do things that are not what the public wants."
He added, "I hope that the area residents go out and vote this fall at election time and tell people, 'We're not accepting the way you're treating us.'"
"So this is what they call silly season, is it?" asked Coun. Selina Robinson, referring to the pre-election rhetoric. "It has started."
During council's 45-minute debate, Robinson spoke about the Austin Heights Neighbourhood Plan - conducted by the city over three years - involving many residents, business owners and stakeholders to renew the aging core "and I think it's important that we respect that process, too," she said. "In that plan, it's very clear. If you read it, it does call for highrises. It calls for several highrises."
Coun. Doug Macdonell said he has spoken with "hundreds of people" about the Beedie project "who want this and they far outnumber the people that are against it.... This is an iconic property. We've got a tremendous builder, a beautiful apartment that's going to go up there that I think we're all going to be very proud of and I think it's going to set the tone for how Austin Heights is going to evolve over the next 10 to 15 years."
Under the Austin Heights Neighbourhood Plan, which council adopted in April, the city plans to densify the area with 5,000 more residents in 2,500 more homes between Blue Mountain and Linton streets and Foster and Rochester avenues; a total of 15 sites are proposed to have towers of more than 15 storeys - including 955 Austin Ave.
Houtan Rafii, residential development vice-president of Beedie Living, told The Tri-City News yesterday construction is expected to start early next year, depending on pre-sales.
