COQUITLAM, B.C., Nov. 22, 2022 – Coquitlam will be looking to its unused properties to generate community value and funding for new park amenities, while freeing up street parking in areas with active construction.
The City is rolling out a strategy this fall to leverage unused civic land parcels to provide a community benefit – such as trades parking lots that keep vehicles off the street – while the properties await their intended purpose. Fees from trades parking leases will go into the Land Sale Reserve Investment Fund or park development program to fund future community amenities.
The initiative is part of the City’s ongoing work to reduce construction impacts on residents and businesses while supporting projects that bring much-needed housing, jobs and other economic spin-offs to the community. About 96 per cent of all new non-civic development in Coquitlam includes new housing.
Leveraging Civic Assets for Public Good
The new strategy formalizes the City’s long-standing practice of utilizing unused civic lands, such as those earmarked for future parks and other amenities, for temporary activities such as trades parking, public park-and-ride lots and new housing sales centres.
In recent weeks, Coquitlam staff developed criteria for identifying unused properties suitable for temporary trades parking in areas with significant construction activity, to free up street parking for businesses and residents.
More than a dozen potential sites around Burquitlam SkyTrain station and City Centre met the criteria: a development timeframe five or more years away, suitable size and topography, the need for minimal improvements, and a location close to active or future construction areas.
The City will continue to add more properties to the roster over time, although not all the sites will be used for parking.
Mitigating Construction Impacts
The City has begun contacting Burquitlam and City Centre developers to offer the potential trades parking areas while reinforcing Coquitlam’s Good Neighbour Development Policy.
The policy was adopted in 2019 to help reduce construction impacts on neighbourhoods such as noise, parking and site cleanliness. The policy puts the onus on developers to meet the guidelines and ensure that their sites, workers and trades are good neighbours to surrounding businesses and residents.
The City also recently introduced a new requirement for developers working near creeks and streams to install high-tech equipment that continually monitors and tests water leaving their site.
New Developments Expand Housing Options
Coquitlam encourages development that brings important housing, amenities and jobs to the community, while continuing to look for creative new ways to reduce disruptions and other impacts caused by construction.
Almost all development in the City contributes to the local housing supply, helping to cement Coquitlam’s place as a regional leader for new purpose-built rental units, along with housing options for people at all income levels and stages of life.
So far this year, 96 per cent of the 181 building permits issued in Coquitlam have included new housing, representing more than 2,300 units that include rentals as well as new apartment, townhouse, duplex and single-family homes.
Coquitlam currently has more than 12,000 rental housing units in-stream in the development process through its award-winning Housing Affordability Strategy, while contributing more than $14 million to subsidized rental housing through its Affordable Housing Reserve Fund.
For more information about the City’s housing efforts, visit www.coquitlam.ca/housing.
Media contact:
Curtis Scott
Director, City Lands and Real Estate
City of Coquitlam
604-927-6965
cscott@coquitlam.ca