Changes to Port Moody's official community plan have created some sharp divisions in the community - and around the council table.
While some look to embrace the changes that are destined to come with the arrival of the Evergreen Line in 2016, others seem to want to cling to the past no matter the cost.
Population estimates for the city in the years ahead have sparked a minor uproar in some segments of the community and a significant portion of last week's committee debate on the OCP centred on the 59,000 population estimate for 2041.
The estimate was determined through calculations made by staff from the changes to population density that would accompany the shift in zoning and height restrictions included in the OCP.
Council eventually opted to change that figure to 50,000. But that decision to randomly change the number to something it finds more palatable is little more than window dressing to hide from the inevitable shift taking place outside their door.
No matter how much they may want to, Port Moody residents (and councillors) cannot fight change and they can't defy geography. Port Moody is not some backwater small town, it is a vital and vibrant piece of a major metropolis. And as a result, people want to live there. Port Moody residents don't have the luxury to pull up the ladder behind them and tell potential newcomers to look somewhere else.
With the arrival of rapid transit will come highrise towers and high-density housing - they've already arrived in some areas. Council and the community would be well served by planning for more such development through the creation of a vision for the community instead of simply wishing it away.
With good planning, highrises don't have to mean the end of the charm that makes Port Moody such a desirable place to live. In fact, it's that charm that is drawing people to the community and making highrise living a necessity - and it's that density (read: customers) that will make small local businesses viable.
The time has come for Port Moody to grow up. In some places, way up.
