Port Moody may hold some important cards to prevent Metro Vancouver from demolishing several 80-year-old cabins to make way for more public access at Belcarra Regional Park.
But having more clout could also mean being on the hook for cabin repairs if the buildings are kept or paying compensation to Metro Vancouver, says Mayor Mike Clay.
Metro wants to open up the area where the cabins are located and build trails, a picnic area and more parking. It surveyed the public last year and found support for retaining buildings and using them for programs such as nature education.
A recommendation was made to save three of them plus the Bole House, but the parks committee voted instead to keep only one cabin and the Bole House, with the costs pegged at $2.3 million for the work plus $92,000 in annual maintenance costs.
Still, PoMo's Heritage Conservation Area (HCA) bylaw covering six cabins, and possibly the Bole House built by Belcarra pioneers — likely added to the HCA after a report was sought by PoMo city council Feb. 28 — could slow down Metro Vancouver plans to remove the structures.
That's because Metro Vancouver would be required to seek a permit from PoMo before altering any of the buildings, under HCA rules.
In recognition of this, Metro has already sent a written statement to Port Moody saying it intends to seek compensation for any reduction in market value the heritage designation causes.
The final decision rests with the Metro Vancouver board but one member of the Metro parks committee said all of the cabins should be knocked down.
"I would have love to see [only] the Bole House kept and the lands returned to their natural state for recreation," said Darrell Penner, a Port Coquitlam councillor. "All this stuff has quite a cost."
He also said the residents of the cabins block an area of the park that should be accessible to the public and the cabins themselves would need work to bring them up to current safety codes.
Jo Ledingham, a longtime cabin resident, has tried to press her case with Metro Vancouver that residents would not only look after the area and the cabins but, also, offer artistic and cultural programming at Belcarra Regional Park.
"I am sad that a wonderful opportunity could be squandered,” she wrote in an email to The Tri-City News.
Clay, who is not a Metro parks committee member and couldn't vote, is also disappointed with the decision. He believes more of the cabins need to be saved to show the area as it once was.
"I think that's what people like — we like to have that background and heritage," Clay said.
But wanting something and paying for it is another thing entirely, he said, and one thing the city's heritage designation can't do is keep the residents from being evicted. That is up to Metro Vancouver, which is the landlord.
"We have no role there other than being an advocate," Clay said.
