A development firm wanting to build a residential complex in Coquitlam was given another chance last week.
City council unanimously voted to allow the bid by Epix Development Ltd., in partnership with The Circadian Group, to proceed.
It's proposing to construct 24 three-storey townhomes at the vacant corner of Falcon and Runnel drives, an area that's designated in city documents as high density because the lot is near a future Evergreen Line station.
Two years ago, city council shelved Epix's application for a five-storey, mixed-used building, saying it didn't meet the official community plan and Transit-Oriented Development Strategy (TDS) guidelines for highrises along the Barnet corridor.
But this week's council decision permits Epix to move forward with its lower-density plans before the City Centre Area Plan is updated; that area plan review is due to start later this year, according to a report from Jim McIntyre, Coquitlam's general manager of planning and development.
McIntyre told The Tri-City News last Thursday a possible Evergreen station at Falcon/Barnet is "many, many years away" and townhomes are more in keeping with the existing neighbourhood, noting the proposed development would fall into Port Moody's TDS for its Evergreen station at Ioco Road/Barnet.
Coquitlam city staff will now start a consultation. Afterward, a public hearing would be required to change the property zoning from service commercial to townhouse residential, McIntyre said.
@jwarrenTC
