Will 24 high-rises surround Rocky Point Park?

Claim: Haven Lurbiecki and Steve Milani claim the next council will decide whether 24 towers will surround Rocky Point park.

Verdict: False. Very disappointing to see fear-mongering of this extent.

Building height is a perennial fixation of Port Moody politics. This election is no different: on the campaign trail, Haven Lurbiecki has been saying that 24 towers are proposed near Rocky Point Park, representing “overdevelopment.” The line was ominously repeated in solemn tones by other Madsen-aligned candidates at the Chamber of Commerce debate, and it’s one of the very first sentences on Steve Milani’s website.

Since completion of the Evergreen Line ended Joe Trasolini’s ban on new housing, Moody Centre has been home to a trickle of growth between 2016 – 2021. A handful of 6-storey lowrises were completed, representing a tiny rate of development relative to most comparable transit-adjacent neighbourhoods. It works out to around one 50-unit lowrise per year – none of them north of the CPR tracks near Rocky Point.

Zoning near Rocky Point Park is a mixture of M1 Light Industrial (Murray St.) and M2 General Industrial (Oceanfront). There has been a total of one rezoning application in the area, for a 12-storey rental midrise with ground-floor employment space and a new pedestrian connection across the CPR tracks. And the application is on hold, likely because the incumbent council finds even 12 storeys too much for a property directly connected to a transit hub.

So that’s Murray. What about the Oceanfront District?

Again, this looks like blatant fear-mongering. There is no application to change zoning from heavy industrial, which will take years. And the OCP Oceanfront guidelines – crafted from a public visioning process and approved with overwhelmingly positive public response – do not specify a development type or layout. Instead it establishes a vision which makes Lurbiecki’s claim impossible, with guidelines including:

• “Buildings set back to provide sufficient space for open/green space and to provide a buffer/transition between the waterfront and buildings.”
• “A minimum of 3.05ha of the site shall be dedicated as public park space and conservation and environmental setback areas.” (Note: this is almost as big as Rocky Point Park)
• “Opening the entire oceanfront to the community by permitting uses that encourage greater public activity, such as retail/commercial, residential, entertainment, open space, and an institutional/research facility.”
• “Integrating a West Coast sensibility (consideration of the natural aspects of light air, mountains, and water) in urban design.”
• “Integrating the existing community and the Oceanfront District through vehicle, pedestrian and cyclist linkages over the CP Rail and Evergreen Line rights-of-way.“

That’s enough park space for a near-doubling of Rocky Point park’s area, buffer spaces required to any future development, and public access to the entire waterfront.

To get close to the 24 tower figure, Lurbiecki is probably using an expansive geographic definition and counting the entire potential Moody Centre TOD area. But the TOD concept is located entirely south of the CPR/SkyTrain right of way, with the preliminary vision featuring 12 high-rises and employment space spread throughout 20 acres – creating a complete community adjacent to Port Moody’s transit hub. It’s also been indefinitely stalled by the goalpost-changing incumbent council.

An OCP amendment isn’t even being considered by the outgoing council, let alone rezoning or development permits. A thin council majority appears determined to maintain 1-2 storey light industrial buildings and parking lots around Port Moody’s transit hub. Because they’re embarrassed to say this outright, they have to find a new cover storey every couple of years (right now they say they want the area to become the next Burrard and W. Georgia financial district – yeah, right).

It’s unfortunate that some campaigns are resorting to fear-mongering, taking advantage of the fact that most voters are busy professionals who don’t have the time to fact-check preposterous claims or read planning documents. Please consider sharing this post with any friends or family who may have been impacted by the misinformation.