School children in Anmore and Port Moody are a step closer to getting their new middle school on Heritage Mountain. But many more hurdles must be jumped before the $23-million school will be a reality.
Located in Anmore behind Port Moody's Heritage Woods secondary school, the long-awaited Heritage middle school must meet the approval of two jurisdictions - Port Moody city council and Anmore village council - and adhere to strict provincial environment requirements to meet its LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) gold status.
The construction project is likely one of the most complicated undertaken in recent years and on Tuesday School District 43 officials got the go-ahead to extend an existing driveway at Heritage Woods secondary for road access, make changes to parking lots for the school and playing fields, and take down 48 trees in Bert Flinn Park to create a wind-firm interface between the school and the park.
But in obtaining a north shore development authorization, the district must fulfill a number of requirements to protect the park, including developing an invasive species management plan and installing tree-protection fencing. It will also preserve and enhance bike and pedestrian trails, do a comprehensive raptor survey and add nesting boxes, woody debris, and native plantings to restore lost habitat.
The school will also be the first in the district with a green roof.
Carey Chute, SD43's principal of facilities initiatives, agreed much work must be done to get the project past Port Moody and Anmore councils. But once Anmore village council accepts the project design - possibly in the next month - the district can go to tender for a builder.
The school, which will be built for 500 students, with room for expansion, will then take 15 to 18 months to build, Chute said.
But according to documents presented to PoMo council Tuesday, the district still needs an agreement for storm-water, sanitary sewer and fire servicing with Port Moody and Anmore. Assistant superintendent Dan Derpak said the district has been working on these issues for two years and is close to to an agreement on both.
He agreed that building on a slope and having to deal with two municipalities does make building this school more complicated. "If you were building a school flat in the middle of Richmond with one municipality and flat ground, [in comparison] it's challenging."
But once Heritage middle is built, the school will likely be a model of environmental design. It is being constructed on 10 acres in a two-tiered design with classrooms arranged around a common elevated courtyard. Storm water will be managed through a series of bioswales and rain gardens so water percolates naturally through the ground without surging into creeks and streams.
