No longer a popular summer getaway on the shore, dotted with quaint cottages and large yards, Port Moody's Pleasantside is becoming anything but.
At an overflowing town hall meeting Monday night, residents of the Ioco Road corridor stood up to share monster home horror stories, lament the loss of views and, more importantly, the loss of good old fashioned neighbourliness.
"It galls me to be in a neighbourhood where somebody can build right in front of somebody else - there's a moral lapse somewhere," said Beding Field Street resident Jack Martin. "We have to start respecting each other a little bit more than I think some of us are currently doing."
Cindy Seddon, another Beding Field resident, told the crowd of the two April Road homes in front of hers. One neighbour came and asked her how she would be affected if they rebuilt their home but the other one offered no such overtures, choosing instead to build the biggest home possible and blocking the views of Setton and several of her neighbours.
"We've lost faith in each other as neighbours, we've lost that feeling of 'I will take care of you,'" Seddon said. "Others have suffered more than we have, but people have been affected and it's created hard feelings in a neighbourhood where everyone used to look after each other."
The town hall meeting was part of a process that started in the summer, when public outcry over the alarming size of homes in the Ioco Road corridor and, to a lesser extent, in areas like Glenayre and Moody Centre, prompted a public forum.
Since then some residents and developers have expressed concerns about how any proposed zoning bylaw changes would affect their property values and their ability to build to the maximum size allowable.
Earlier this month staff reported back on a series of motions on potential zoning changes, cautioning against broad changes across the city.
The report also emphasized that using floor area ratio (FAR) controls, such as including basements and garages in the allowable FAR, would do little to mitigate the "mega home" problem.
Many of the speakers at Monday night's meeting supported staff's suggestion that focusing on defining site grades, regulating fill through a permit process and revising how building height is calculated - particularly for a peaked roof - would better address problems with bulky construction. As well, staff noted developing new setback regulations for landscape and retaining walls would help address the large podium issue.
"The reason many of us are over there is because of the views," said Michael Herberts, an Alderside Road resident. "But it's not about square footage, it's about roof lines, setbacks and exterior designs."
Karen Rockwell, an Ioco Road resident and former councillor, said the neighbourhood has changed and that adjusting grade calculations would go a long way to stopping the proliferation of monster homes.
San Remo Drive resident Willie Martin echoed Rockwell's comments on the public board of variance meetings, reminding homeowners it was up to them to stay involved.
"We can't sit in our homes and then one day look out the window and say, 'Oh my gosh, what went up in front of me?' I'm asking everyone to please, stay involved and be participants."
Staff will be summarizing input from the town hall meeting for council consideration.
