Half of a park inside the SFU ring road may be lost to make way for a long-awaited new fire station atop Burnaby Mountain.
The university and the City of Burnaby have picked the east end of Discovery Park, at the corner of Tower Road and University Drive for a detailed feasibility study and conceptual design for what would be the city's eighth fire hall, according to a report to the city’s financial management committee Tuesday.
“Stream mapping analysis was completed by a registered professional biologist to locate the existing streams and help map the setbacks for any potential development,” stated the report.
The city hopes to hire a consultant this fall to complete the study and design by early next year, according to the report.
Construction is expected to begin in the spring of 2024.
The plan is for the new fire station to be staffed with four firefighters (20 full time equivalent).
External consultants have identified a need for a fire station atop the mountain since at least 2002, and a comprehensive review of the Burnaby Fire Department released in April 2020 listed a new SFU fire hall under “immediate needs.”
A request for proposal currently on BC Bid states that “as the community of SFU continues to grow, the lack of a fire hall on Burnaby Mountain presents some challenges for the fire department in enabling its department to meet response times in compliance with industry standards.”
Staff said a funding report on the project would be presented at the next financial management committee meeting.
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