Hello friends,
I am sorry that the June recap is over a month delayed. Both June and July have been busy, and there is a lot to recap, so here is a rather lengthy update on both. In this newsletter:
Council Highlights
Letter to the Editor
Council Meeting Links
Campaign Launch
Other things
Council Highlights The city has a webpage called Council Highlights that shares the “Cole’s Notes” version of recent regular council meetings, along with links to the relevant video and agenda sections – a useful resource if you want more details on any of the topics covered at a council meeting. Below are a few that matter the most to me.
Guidelines for Respectful Dialogue and Civic Discourse – Report from the PSMCG Task Force : As Vice Chair, I was happy to see that the council accepted the task force’s report and guidelines. These guidelines were created with three community leaders and with the consensus of the entire group. The guidelines can be found here .
Barnet Highway Eastbound at CPKC Rail Bridge Widening Options : Council unanimously approved an option that will see another lane added to the currently three-lane bridge. This was not my preferred option, and not the staff-recommended option – for reasons of induced demand – but we do need to add capacity to the left turn onto Ioco, so that this traffic doesn’t block the left lane (west of Dewdney on St Johns). We still need to work on a safe and direct connection from Dewdney for active transportation users.
Basketball Court at Old Firehall Site : The court is now open and well used so far. It makes me happy to see this space used by kids, teens, adults and grandparents. The area next to the court will be used for the farmers market in the fall, activating this underused land at a very visible corner.
Density Bonus Program : While some have characterized this as scaling back affordable housing expectations, these changes are about aligning our program with Provincial legislation while retaining some bonus density. Under the previous bonus density program, the city was able to receive 75% of the value of the density over 2.5 FAR. Under the Transit Oriented Areas (TOA) legislation, this changed to 3, 4 or 5 FAR, removing the city’s ability to capture the value of the land lift of this density. Those are now the base densities in the TOA, rather than the 2.5 FAR base density of our past program. Additionally, with respect to the affordable housing, our policy of 15% is still in place. This new program applies to the additional density only. So it is possible we could get 15% + 5%, though in the current economic climate, it seems unlikely.
New Amenity Cost Charges (ACC) Bylaw : The ACC bylaw outlines the cost of new civic infrastructure. The capital projects included in the new bylaw were determined through infrastructure master planning reports. ACCs replace Community Amenity Charges (CAC), which were previously negotiated on a case-by-case basis. Key point in the report: “Prior to 2025, Council had broad discretion in how CAC and Density Bonus revenues are collected and spent on public amenities .” Provincial Bills 46 and 16 removed that flexibility. It’s worth watching the staff presentation and then council debate.
Garden of Compassion Society : Cllr Lubik and I had the pleasure of meeting members from this group and hearing their concerns and ideas on how the city can support seniors as they age in our community.
Parkland Acquisition : We announced the purchase of four lots adjacent to Kyle Park for future expansion of the existing park. Read the news release here . These four properties are within Tier 3 of the Moody Centre Transit-Oriented Area , an area expected to grow. Neighbourhood parks are an important part of walkable and complete communities.
Development Variance Permit for 205 Mount Royal Drive : This was an application for decreased setbacks from a ditch to enable larger units (approximately ~1,500 sq ft vs ~1,200 sq ft without variance). If there was no ditch on the boulevard, a variance would not have been needed. These family-friendly units are the type of housing most of council want to see as infill in single-family neighbourhoods. This type of housing was enabled by provincial legislation. This passed, with only one opposed.
Kyle Centre Redevelopment Project
Engagement feedback (7.8) – While the summary report is included in the agenda package, Council also receives verbatim comments so we can read comments in their full context. There were 29 pages of comments, mostly positive, with some questions. An overview is in the image below. Of course, there is some concern about cost and staff and consultants are working to refine the design and cost estimate.
Project update/request for capital (11.3) – Besides asking for Council feedback, staff also asked for additional funding ($148,000) to the existing approved project budget. The two highest additional costs were a traffic analysis including feasibility study and preliminary concept design for the closure of St. George Street, and an archaeological impact assessment. I am happy to support this recreation project for future generations of Port Moody residents.
From July 28 Regular Council Meeting, item 7.6, Attachment 1
Letter to the Editor I wrote to the Dispatch highlighting the link between staffing and the lack of medical imaging available at Eagle Ridge Hospital. An FOI response showed that over 7,000 Tri-Cities’ residents are waiting for an MRI. You can read it here:
Let me know what you think.
Council Meeting Links Regular Council (June 9)
Council Standing Committees (June 16)
Regular Council (June 23)
Public Hearing (July 7)
Regular Council (July 14)
Council Standing Committee (July 21)
Regular Council (July 28)
Campaign Launch On July 11, Councillor Lubik and I kicked off our campaigns with a joint launch event at Grit Café (no, we are not a slate). Thanks to everyone who came out and supported us. I know I can speak for us both when I say we really appreciate it! Special thanks to Grit Café for hosting us.
My website is mostly up to date – some editing is still required for better readability, but the main themes are there. I am especially proud of all the motions I’ve advanced over this term, many in partnership with my colleagues. Topics range from protecting rental housing to asking the province to share gaming revenues to motions aimed at making our daily lives a little better.
If you want to get involved in my campaign or can donate, I would be very grateful. Campaigns require money, and unfortunately, my joint motion with Cllr Knowles on publicly funded elections was not supported by our peers at the LMLGA conference.
How to help To get involved , please fill in the Volunteer Form .
To donate by cash or cheque, please get in touch with my financial agent, Marshal, at fa@samantha-agtarap.ca .
To donate by e-transfer, please complete this form and send the e-transfer to fa@samantha-agtarap.ca
Everything helps, no matter how big or small. Thank you for all your support. ❤️
Other Things Do you need a doctor? Register at the Health Connect Registry . The ministry uses this to measure need in a region. Signing up helps to demonstrate that primary care physicians are needed in specific areas.
Have you signed up for the Port Moody Events Newsletter ? If not, email pomonewsletter@gmail.com . (I am not affiliated with the newsletter, just sharing a community resource.)
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