Dear council and staff,
Re: OCP process – public consultation and timeline
Please include this correspondence on the record for council’s May 7, 2013 Committee of the Whole meeting, in which the OCP timeframe going forward is included on the agenda.
As outlined in our email to council dated March 10, 2013 (included below), the Moody Centre Community Association has been collecting resident feedback, and awaiting the opportunity to attend a city-sponsored workshop in Moody Centre as recommended and agreed upon in the council meetings spanning November 27, 2012 to December 4, 2012.
As of December 4, the timeline was to include a “public consultation opportunity in early 2013, following the return of the draft as amended at the November 27, 2012 Committee of the Whole meeting.”
That workshop/consultation never happened.
Instead, within the last couple of weeks (late April to May 2, 2013) the city has held some open houses with display boards, and provided an online place for public input (PlaceSpeak). We have heard from residents that more of their input is necessary.
The open houses were not set up as meetings or workshops with questions and answers that engaged the participants as a whole in a group setting. The concept drawings came across as a done deal–hatched from the Design Charettes that were woefully short of Moody Centre residents and heavily represented by developers, special interest groups and architects. Surprisingly, some of the people on hand to answer questions from the public were not staff – they represented potential developers (e.g., Mill and Timber/Waterfront; Andres/Peller; and West Port Moody Gateway Group). They brought their consultants and some even had slick brochures. One resident wrote to us that she felt like she was at a timeshare presentation. It is our understanding that these special study areas will be designated as such in the OCP and will undergo their own process after the it has been passed. It could be construed as a conflict if the entire process is not undertaken in a neutral environment.
In a matter this important – a concept that could transform Port Moody so dramatically into a city that would be virtually unrecognizable from what it is today – the process to-date has been flawed.
So far, this process has had:
- council discussions that did not take place at regular council meetings, and were therefore unrecorded on video (e.g., Kyle Centre, November 27, 2012)
- various visioning studies that have not been included on the OCP update page, but should have been – e.g., the Murray-Clarke visioning study
- timelines and anticipated dates and events that have either not happened or changed – and have not been clearly identified on the OCP update webpage
- OCP drafts that have changed seemingly based on 3rd party requests (e.g., WaterfrontVillage/sawmill site, Coronation Park, etc.)
- city-sponsored open houses with potential developers promoting their plans
- an extremely tight timeframe for such an ambitious proposal
- residents who have felt blindsided by the scope of the OCP “update” and what it could mean to their city
Now, in the May 7, 2013 agenda we can see on the very last page the new proposed timeline, and it is very problematic.
[MISSING HERE: public consultation workshops and/or group question and answer sessions (not one-on-one with staff or potential developers) with Moody Centre and other areas prior to any further council meetings]
May 21st – Committee of the Whole Meeting – Presentation of OCP feedback to Council and seek direction based on input
[MISSING HERE: May 28 draft OCP document to regular council meeting, as per usual procedures – recorded and with opportunity for public input]
June 4th – Draft OCP document to Land Use Committee
June 11th – Draft OCP bylaw to Council for 1st and 2nd Readings
June 25 – OCP Public Hearing
Many residents are very confused as to why a 5 year OCP should be packed with so much density projecting 50 years into the future – this is not a brand new master planned community. We feel strongly that this process should not be rushed, should be completely transparent and inclusive, and council discussions should be held in regular council meetings and recorded. The draft OCP should not skip steps, such as going from Committee of the Whole on May 21, 2013 to the Land Use Committee on June 4, bypassing a regular council meeting event (May 28, 2013) in which the public can take part.
We look forward to seeing these issues addressed as soon as possible.
Regards,
Wendy Swalwell, President
Hazel Mason, Vice-President
Moody Centre Community Association (MCCA)
Respond: mcca.pm@gmail.com
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Email of March 10, 2013
Subject line: MCCA response for March 12, 2013 public input at council meeting
Dear council and staff,
Please include this correspondence as official public input.
Council and two planning staff attended the meeting hosted by MCCA at the Port Moody Legion on January 17, 2013. You received some verbal input at that time, and the meeting was recorded onto DVD by Geoff Scott, TriCitiesTV. In addition, MCCA has been under the impression that the city planned to solicit Moody Centre opinion at a city-hosted workshop event. We look forward to confirmation of when this will happen.
As you know, the Moody Centre Community Association has been collecting feedback from residents with regard to the draft OCP. It is our intention to provide a complete document to council during the window for public consultation. We have prepared a preliminary recap of results and sample comments, and attach a copy for your reference. The overall tone of the feedback underscores the community’s attachment to their neighbourhood and concerns about the proposed OCP changes.
As the draft document, now in its 2nd iteration, proposes very significant changes to Port Moody, and Moody Centre in particular, MCCA is counting on you to work with us to ensure fair representation of our residents in this OCP update process.
Regards,
Wendy Swalwell, President
Hazel Mason, Vice-President
Moody Centre Community Association (MCCA)
Respond: mcca.pm@gmail.com
Attachment
Moody Centre Community Association 