More housing comes to New West; Massey inches closer to liquor changes

Of the three public hearings that took place on Monday, the one that seemed to garner the most attention was for the project at 108-118 Royal Ave. and 74-82 1st St.

The building would be six to eight stories with 189 units, including 25 three-bedroom units and 60 two-bedroom units. There would also be 253 underground vehicle parking spaces along with 236 long-term and 12 short-term bicycle parking spaces.

The project had support from HUB New Westminster, in particular for the enhanced sidewalk that would connect Cunningham Street to Royal Avenue – and providing another way to access Qayqayt Elementary. 

There are two older homes on these spaces: the Woods House, which was built in 1890, and the Henderson House, built in 1930. The Woods House is slated to be moved to another part of the property – and restored, while the Henderson House would be relocated elsewhere. During the public hearing, council heard from Adel Bellemlih – who is working on the project.

Allison Taylor-McBryde is a homeowner in the area who had some concerns about the project. She pointed out that the complex is not a far walk from Columbia SkyTrain station, and therefore wondered why there was a need for 253 underground vehicle parking spaces. Other concerns included a loss of the local tree canopy, as well as worries about a stream that apparently ran underground somewhere in the area.

In response, city staff noted that of the 71 trees that would be removed, only three were considered ‘high value’ trees. Staff said any kind of water running underground would have been addressed during the geotechnical assessment. 

While the project passed, it ended up prompting a discussion about the need for better policies on the amount of parking allowed in a building, as well as trees. Councillor Nadine Nakagawa said she’d like to see more housing in places that weren’t so close to arterial roads, while Councillor Jaimie McEvoy felt a loss of 71 trees seemed like a lot, despite their condition. Mayor Jonathan Cote pointed out that, while they’d celebrated planting a number of trees throughout the city, there was something to be said about the loss of canopies in urban neighbourhoods. 

What else happened at city council?

Massey liquor licence update

On the topic of the Massey, the city gave its go-ahead to amend a bylaw that would allow for a liquor primary licence on the property. The property is owned by the city. This is different from the application that went to the province for consideration.

New federal ridings?

It appears the city and council aren’t in favour of the recently proposed federal ridings that would represent New Westminster – or, based on the discussion during the meeting, wouldn’t properly represent New Westminster. 

Council voted to have staff write a letter of concern to the Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission, ahead of a public hearing about the ridings – set to take place on Wednesday, Sept. 14 at the Inn at the Quay. 

Looking at the current New Westminster-Burnaby riding, the suggested New West-Bridgeview would include losing parts of Burnaby and picking up more space near the foot of the Pattullo Bridge, as well as in North Surrey. 

The Richmond East riding would keep Queensborough, following a similar structure to that of the provincial riding, but would also incorporate parts of Delta. 

Shadows of construction past

Another item discussed during the meeting looked at whether to give the go-ahead on a temporary working space agreement at 590 Blackberry Dr.. There would be closures involved, including to a trail that provides access to Glenbrook Ravine Park. 

Councillor Patrick Johnstone wondered if there would be time to work on an alternative, while Councillor McEvoy said he had concerns about Metro Vancouver being involved in another construction project, pointing to the series of unfortunate events along Columbia Street (involving the beleaguered sewer pipe replacement) over the past year. Council will look at this project again in mid-July.