After months of back and forth on a bid to have a Starbucks drive-through at a busy Port Coquitlam intersection, city council made a decision this week: No.
Its unanimous rejection came Monday after a public hearing that saw the tenants of the strip mall located at the northeast corner of Coast Meridian Road and Prairie Avenue square off against area residents.
Tenants told council their businesses had slowed since the CIBC branch left the strip mall three years ago.
But neighbours warned if a Starbucks drive-through went in, it would snarl traffic, especially as Burke Mountain development continues in Coquitlam.
The application to rezone 1475 Prairie Ave. was to determine whether Starbucks could set up shop but whether a drive-through could be allowed (under the current rules, only a bank can have a drive-through there).
Opponents raised concerns about the southbound left-turn lane from Coast Meridian Road into the strip mall, the drive-through exit onto Prairie — heading west — and the tight parking lot. They cautioned the pinch points would exacerbate the flow of traffic, which has increased significantly over the past decade.
The landlord, Bill Harris of Harvest Developments, had offered a $10,000 letter of credit to the city to make future road improvements in and around the intersection. But Kristen Meersman, PoCo's director of engineering and operations, told council during Monday's public hearing it would need at least double that amount for delineators and extra line painting.
Coun. Dean Washington said council had tried its best to make the application work but there was no solution given the poorly built intersection and "four-lane freeway" of Coast Meridian.
"North-side PoCo is suffering from growing pains," Coun. Laura Dupont said.
Coun. Darrell Penner — the first signed tenant to the strip mall when he owned Meridian Meats — said council got a lot of public feedback on the proposal. Still, the nays outweighed the yeahs.
After the vote, Mayor Greg Moore advised council and the public that Harvest Development could still put a Starbucks — or another fast-food outlet — in the building, but without a drive-through.
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