Communities thrive when we create space for people of all ages. Monitoring the effect of the existing policies over time will ensure appropriate housing across the spectrum of our lives with a continued focus on family-friendly, climate-resilient homes. This includes continued advocacy for long-term care and housing that allows our residents to age in place. It also means increasing affordable housing in all forms.

In recent years, we have increased market rentals near SkyTrain, including increased numbers of family-friendly unit sizes realized through the Family-Friendly policy, which can also save families thousands in transportation costs. Additionally, we are adding more one-bedroom units, something that the city was missing (read my blog post here about unit mix, Part 2). We’ve also identified minimum unit sizes to ensure these are liveable and comfortable as a permanent home.

Ultimately, I believe we should be able to get all our day-to-day needs met within our home neighbourhood or city. To me, that means all our daily errands can be completed without depending on a car, including going to work. This is why we need to build complete, sustainable communities. Walking and rolling, combined with good transit, are the foundation of an accessible city. Safe routes encourage active transportation. Plus it’s good for our health.

How we do this: This means ensuring our sidewalks and active transportation routes can be navigated safely by everyone. It makes short trips for daily needs, even groceries, easy without a vehicle.  Accessibility also means access to recreation, parks, and free community spaces is within an easy walk or roll. It also means one less car on the road. When it is safe to walk or roll, more people will choose to move that way.

This term, we’ve advanced some of those projects including:

• Guildford Way Bicycle Facility Improvements Project
• St. Johns Street Phase 2 ‐ Transportation Upgrades
• Barnet Highway Eastbound at CPKC Bridge Widening

I will continue to support projects that connect active transportation routes and facilitate movement throughout our community, whatever mobility choice you make.

We need continue planning for a climate future that is very different than the one I grew up in. This means supporting the implementation phases and projects of the climate action plan, such as investing in projects that ensure public spaces can provide refuge from a rapidly changing climate.  

We also need to figure out a sustainable funding mechanism, so we aren’t wholly reliant on property taxation and grants (which are competitive). Previously, municipalities received stable funding from the Provincial Government through the Local Government Climate Action Program (LGCAP) but this has been discontinued. We are advocating for the reinstatement or replacement of this funding and have sent a resolution to the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) to be discussed at the September 2026 conference.

LGCAP was a proven, cost-effective program that enables local governments to deliver projects that protect residents from extreme weather including extreme heat and flooding, in their
communities. The Insurance Bureau of Canada notes “Investments in adaptation and risk mitigation measures help ensure Canadian communities are resilient to threats caused by a changing climate. Research indicates that the benefits of investing in community adaptation and resilience outweigh the cost of such investments by a ratio of 6 to 1.”

Our local businesses contribute so much to our community – they support fundraisers, they employ our residents – including first jobs for our youth, contribute to neighbourhood character and they spend their money here too. They are the economic backbone and without them, our community would look and feel very different. LOCO BC estimates that local businesses recirculate $63 out of every $100 earned back into the local economy, compared to multinational companies.

Our city has a high proportion of locally owned and operated businesses which lend to its charm. However, we also have a very low vacancy rate for industrial and commercial spaces. Some of our home-grown businesses are growing and looking for more space but may not be able to stay because of the lack of options in Port Moody. 

In any future developments, we need to encourage the preservation of existing industrial spaces (both light and heavy) and expand our commercial floor space. Future developments must support a variety of mixed uses beyond retail only at ground level. We need a variety of businesses/employers to ensure diverse job opportunities for our community, ensuring live, work, create and play opportunities for our residents. 

The city’s role is to ensure a diversity of new commercial and industrial spaces through policy, allowing for the creation of a range of commercial and industrial spaces that will create an inviting city for businesses. New businesses will also help to develop a broader tax base and consequently, provide more revenue to the city. More revenue through tax base diversification means more money for existing and new amenities. The recently completed Industrial Land Strategy will help guide decision making. 

Ultimately, I believe we should be able to get all our day-to-day needs met within our home neighbourhood or city. To me, that means all our daily errands can be completed without depending on a car, including going to work. This is why we need to build complete, sustainable communities.

I will continue to support the implementation of the Economic Master Plan. We can continue building on key strategies like attracting office-based employment, encouraging tourism and the film industry, and investing in a sense of place. We also need to be able to respond to changing economic conditions quickly. The city should continue look for opportunities to build on the work of the Arts and Business Council project and improve the alignment between Port Moody workforce and Port Moody jobs. 

This addresses the specific type of jobs available locally and how well they align with local skills. Metro Vancouver 2022 Regional Office Building Inventory notes that “Smaller Urban Centres continue to see less demand for office space, and less growth. This may change as populations grow and there is increased need for local-serving office space.”

The city, through the Manager of Economic Development, should continue to monitor office demand in Port Moody and continue to work on attracting a government agency or other institutional organization as an anchor tenant in one of our transit-oriented areas. 

The city’s role is to ensure a diversity of new commercial and industrial spaces through policy such as the OCP, enabling the creation of a range of commercial and industrial spaces that will create an inviting city for businesses. New businesses will also help to develop a broader tax base and consequently, provide more revenue to the city.

While our city has a high proportion of locally owned and operated businesses that lend to its charm, we also have a very low vacancy rate for industrial and commercial spaces. Some of our homegrown businesses are growing and looking for more space but may not be able to stay because of the lack of options in Port Moody. We can, and should, look to support policies that encourage expansion of light industrial, including stacked industrial (2 – 6 stories) and a range of unit sizes to support local business and attract new ones.

Did you know? Major industry pays 15 times more (per $1000 in assessed value) in property tax than residential properties. Light industry and other businesses pay 4 and 2 times, respectively.  These businesses are an important financial contributors to our community and the loss of income from the closure of Burrard Thermal and Flavelle Mill affected the City’s bottom line. We need to encourage creative, “outside the box” thinking and get those lands working for our community again through tax revenue and job creation. Reference: Port Moody mill rates.

In any future developments, we need to encourage the preservation of existing industrial spaces (both light and heavy) and expand our commercial floor space. Future developments must support a variety of mixed uses beyond retail only at ground level. This term, I asked staff to look at options to facilitate vibrant streetscapes, encouraging dentists and other personal care businesses to locate on the second floors where possible. 

We need a variety of employers to ensure diverse job opportunities for our community, ensuring live, work, create and play opportunities for our residents.

Our tagline is City of the Arts, and it’s time that we start living up to it. This past term two task forces on Arts and Business tackled this thorny question, resulting in nine recommendations. Work has commenced, and I am excited to see where this can go, complementing and bridging the gap between the two ecosystems. To me, a City of the Arts is one that has visibly integrated arts, in all its forms, into the City’s economy.

A model worth exploring: Community Impact Real Estate Society (CIRES) is a Vancouver-based social enterprise focusing on commercial real estate to build inclusive, equitable and vibrant local communities. Its portfolio includes 53 commercial units in 29 buildings, representing over 112,000 ft2.  CIRES prioritizes small businesses, non-profits and social enterprises.  It uses income generated by market leases to subsidize units at below market rates for organizations that create positive community impact. Could it work for our community? It’s worth exploring!

Public spaces and the outdoors are as essential to well-being as the arts. Our forests, streams and lakes matter. They provide core city services and support our community’s health and resilience. In 2024, Council endorsed a Natural Asset Management Strategy and Policy. This will help the city monitor, protect, enhance, and maintain these natural assets in the future.

Our Parkland Strategy envisions outdoor spaces within easy walking distance of every person’s home. Acquiring land, when available, is a key aspect of realizing this vision. Parks, trails and natural areas not only provide recreational opportunities for residents but also space for wildlife to move through our community.

Here’s how we do this: monitor progress through the Natural Asset Management policy and implement the Parkland Strategy through sustained funding (both DCCs and other sources).

For liveability and community health, we should strive to meet the 3-30-300 rule. This means 3 significant trees are visible from home, school or work, 30% tree canopy cover in all neighbourhoods, and within 300 m of a park or trail.

Here’s how we do that: Continued focus and sustained funding for both the current Urban Forestry Management Strategy and the Parkland Strategy, will help the city achieve those goals. 

Currently, we have a system of citizen committees, community advisory groups, public hearings, and community engagement (through a variety of methods, from in-person to online). 

Some of the comments I’ve heard over the course of the last four years are: 

• Didn’t know this project was happening.
• Input at the public hearing seems too late to change anything.
• Public hearings are not representative of residents’ opinions.
• Engage Port Moody feedback is not representative of residents’ opinions.
• Committee feedback doesn’t change anything.

More recently, under provincial housing legislation, public hearing requirements have been removed, resulting in municipalities being prevented from holding a public hearing in specific cases. 

Engagement opportunities, including attending council meetings, are not always accessible to residents for a variety of reasons, though online feedback opportunities can be helpful.

So how do municipalities ensure that feedback is heard from a representative cross-section of our community? 

I believe the answer is a Citizens’ Assembly (CA). This is a random selection of participants that reflects the demographic makeup of our community. This is different than a Citizen’s Advisory Group (CAG), which is selected from applicants, rather than a representative sample of our city. 

Members of the CA learn about the issue, hear from experts with a range of views, ask questions and discuss ideas together. This differs from a CAG or current approaches because feedback opportunities often follow an information out/feedback in approach, with limited opportunities to discuss with peers, learn from experts and ask questions.

While a CA may not be appropriate for every decision, I believe there are specific questions a city can pose to a citizen’s assembly – such as engaging with them around taxes and budgets. Of course, this approach comes with a cost and needs time to ensure CA members have the information they need to provide feedback and advice to city council. It may be a slower process, but I think it is worth exploring.

Citizen’s assemblies have been used in Burnaby and New Westminster.

I’ve heard that finding information on the city’s website can be challenging, though this has improved with website upgrades. I’ve advocated for a “Frequently Asked Questions” page, especially when it comes to city projects or development projects. 

The information is generally available on Engage Port Moody, but sometimes we also want to know things like the total number of fire rescue calls in a year. Data for things like that is available but often embedded in annual reports or other documents, so it might require a bit more digging. 

The city has an open data portal, but there are some broken links and some metrics are not current (some are; you might need to click on the metric, as it is inconsistent), so it needs a bit of attention to make it current and useful to residents. 

With easily accessible and clearly communicated data, residents will have a better idea of what is happening in the city (and why) and how we are doing on meeting our goals, like tree canopy or housing targets.

Acknowledging truth and reconciliation is not something we can check off a list, and continuing to build on the relationships we’ve built this term with Tseil-Waututh and Kwikwetlem Nations is a key to this journey. I recognize that there is significant anxiety around the Cowichan decision and the Musqueam agreement. I believe that the only way forward is together and will continue to build those relationships to mutual benefit and understanding.