Phase three public consultations for two major Burnaby village developments will be in the near future after council endorsed both the Lochdale Urban Village Community Plan and the Bainbridge Community Plan as a basis of public consultations moving to phase 3.
At the March 7 regular meeting, council authorized staff to undertake Phase 3 public consultations for both projects.
Phase two public consultations for the pair of projects were completed during the summer and fall of 2021. In separate reports, city staff presented the results of input received.
Lochdale Urban Village Community Plan
City staff said 483 responses were received, with 396 respondents providing at least one "long-form" comment. In total, 1,210 long-form comments were collected.
Two virtual open house workshops were attended by 81 participants in July and August of 2021. Staff said they also received letters and emails outside of the survey and workshops.
During phase two, consideration was given to further expanding the proposed plan boundary. The area includes properties east of Cliff Avenue and north of Lou Moro Park, where there are currently single-family dwellings.
The west expansion area extends to Holdom Avenue and currently includes residential, commercial and institutional uses.
Phase two survey results allegedly revealed that 71% of respondents support the expansion area east of Cliff Avenue and north of Lou Moro Park to explore additional ground-orientated housing forms that could be developed incrementally in the areas over the long term.
"Respondents who were opposed to the inclusion of these areas cited concerns about increased density, crime and traffic, and change in existing neighbourhood character," the report stated.
The city says in its report 76% of respondents supported the proposed west expansion.
Bainbridge Urban Village Community Plan
City of Burnaby staff said in its report they received 939 responses during phase two of public consultations, with 811 providing at least one long-form comment sharing feedback. A total of 3,185 long-form comments were collected.
Two virtual open house workshops were attended by a combined 172 participants.
The city says the plan area boundary continued to focus on Bainbridge East and Broadway South.
Bainbridge East includes lands that were primarily city-owned and undeveloped west of Philips Avenue, currently identified in the plan for public park and community uses.
Broadway South lands currently consist of single-family dwelling uses.
Survey results allegedly revealed that more than 74% of respondents supported the inclusion of Bainbridge East and Broadway South as part of the plan area and the potential to explore additional housing forms that could be developed incrementally in the areas over the long-term.
"Feedback received from both the online survey and virtual workshops included a mix of opinions on the plan area boundary, ranging from individuals who wanted to see more ground-oriented housing options ( e.g. duplexes, triplexes, townhouses) in the residential areas, to those who wished for these areas to be maintained strictly as single-family neighbourhoods," the report stated.
The city says survey results also showed 64% of respondents supported the inclusion of the primarily underdeveloped, mostly city-owned lands along the west side of Phillips Avenue in the plan area boundary.
Residents have voiced oppositions to Bainbridge development plans
At a regular meeting on Feb. 28, residents Herb Simak and Salim Jannmohamed appeared before council to present a petition that claimed 66% of homeowners in a 108-home subdivision near the proposed project oppose the rezoning of the area.
According to Simak, the subdivision encompasses Buffalo Street, Cardinal Drive, Collister Street, Coventry Place, Chicory Place, as well as the homes on the east side of Bainbridge Avenue.
"We would like to start by saying we are not in opposition to the proposed development in the commercial and industrial areas around Dairyland, Winston, Greenwood, the 14-acre parcel on northeast corner of Bainbridge Avenue, as well as the area to the west of Bainbridge Avenue," Simak read from a presentation.
"We respectfully are submitting the attached petition in opposition to the proposed rezoning of our subdivision encompassing Buffalo Street, Cardinal Drive, Collister Street, Coventry Place, Chicory Place as well as the homes on the east side of Bainbridge Avenue, herein described as the area bordered by Bainbridge on the west, forest /green belt to the east, Edison St. to the south and Lougheed Highway to the north."
Simak's presentation suggested if the city is looking for further high-rise development opportunities closer to SkyTrain stations, they should look to areas at Lake City station and the north and sough side of Production Way/University station.
"So I think it's clear there's an overwhelming majority of residents and homeowners in that area that we've defined that do not want the rezoning to occur," Jannmohamed said during the presentation.
"And, you know, just thinking about, you know, we live in a democratic society. We're all taxpaying, citizens of Burnaby. We hope that you will take that into account.
"I think it's a pretty clear, unambiguous message. And based on our submission and the clear evidence that we've provided, we ask that you compel the Bainbridge Planning Committee to remove the area that we have identified from the proposed phase three consultation, which is set to come out, I guess, shortly, in March, because it's clear that the residents, the owners of this area do not want this rezoning."
Mayor Mike Hurley asked director of planning and building Ed Kozak for a better explanation as to why the area was expanded east.
"When we began the process, and if you look at the OCP, the Bainbridge area is not one contiguous space," Kozak said.
"And so one of the first things we did in the earliest consultations and that carried through into phase two, was a way to define what the Bainbridge area is. And there was some discussion about what that looks like on the east side of Bainbridge. And so that that came through in part of broader community dialogues.
"Certainly, we're doing our own due diligence to ensure that this is something the community actually wants. And that's why we're proceeding with a phase three consultation to make sure that we got it right in terms of what we've heard from the community."
However, Jannmohamed took issue with the way the city collected respondents' information from an online survey, saying the city has no way to verify who the respondent actually is and if they are a resident in Burnaby or even British Columbia.
"It's impossible for your methodology to verify the interests of the homeowners in the area because you simply used an online survey format.
"I understand that it's supplemented by soliciting proposals such as ours and other people have spoken and provided documentation, but, you know, someone from China could fill out the survey on your website, and you have no way of verifying that that person is not a British Columbia or Burnaby resident."
Kozak responded, saying the city goes through "exhaustive efforts" to ensure that the people who would be impacted the most have a direct stake in the decisions that council considers.
"Do you collect their names or their property ID? Or their folio number? I can't get into that? Well, I can tell you because I filled out the survey you do not," Jannmohamed said back.
"So, therefore, there is no way for you to know where the resident who has responded to your survey actually lives. Because you do not collect that information, yet you have that information.
"I'm not trying to be argumentative. I'm just trying to indicate to you that the process of soliciting feedback from owners in the area is deficient because you're not collecting information that would allow you to identify who those people are. There's no way you can tell that the person filling out your form on the website actually lives in the target area from which you're seeking feedback. It's impossible. I filled out the survey."
Hurley assured Jannmohamed that he, and other residents, are being heard.
"I've gone to visit homes in your community to hear points of view when it's been pretty clear, as you pointed out," he said.
Another group of Burnaby residents also voiced opposition to plan details in the fall
In September of 2021, Burnaby resident Liliane Mercier and other Government Road-area residents stated they are vehemently opposed to the inclusion of "Bainbridge East Area" in the Bainbridge Urban Village focus area developments.
The city plan area boundary survey results in phase one saw a mix of options of the inclusion of the Bainbridge East and Broadway South areas, which now are primarily single-family residential neighbourhoods and green space.
Phase one also showed interest in including city-owned forested lands along Phillips Avenue in the plan area, and more general planning for surrounding public and private lands in a holistic way as part of the Urban Village.
The city said that, based on feedback, phase two would continue to explore and gather input on more specific options on how the plan could include direction for the Broadway South and Bainbridge East areas.
"Government Road Area residents do NOT agree with the proposal to extend the focus area of the Bainbridge Urban Village to include the Bainbridge East Area and maintain that development should be contained within, and limited to, Phase 1 of the focus area boundaries, including schools and parks," the petition started by Mercier states.
But Mercier also said Government Road area residents are generally supportive of the project as a whole within the focus area itself.
"Residents of the Government Road Area are generally supportive of the Bainbridge Urban Village development proposal within the focus area although I can't speak to how residents feel about specific aspects of the development proposals such as building height, density, etc."
Although the petition states 386 signed letters, Mercier told the NOW closer to 400 were being delivered to the city on Sept. 3 to show what the petition claims is widespread opposition to certain aspects of the proposal.
Upwards of 500 homes were canvassed according to Mercier.
The city agreed that the survey in phase one was broad-reaching and anonymous.
"We are unable to verify if each respondent is truly in the postal code they have indicated," the city said in an email to Mercier.
They also say the majority of respondents said they are from the "northeast Burnaby area" while some of the outreach and notification methods used were wider-reaching.
"Our direct postcard notification mail-outs were concentrated on residents and property owners within and around the Bainbridge neighbourhood," the email continues.
"We feel confident that with over 500 responses to the survey, we are hearing from a good cross-section of voices from within and around the area."
But Mercier, and those included in the petition, disagree with the city's position, saying the information that was collected doesn't represent the area residents accurately.
"The number of signed letters received directly contradicts the Phase 1 survey results and clearly illustrates that there is widespread opposition to the proposal to expand the focus area development boundaries east of Bainbridge.
"We submit that these letters are a more accurate, representative and reliable reflection of the views of Government Road Area residents, since each letter contains a verifiable address.
"The same cannot be said of the Phase 1 Survey Results since, as the Bainbridge Team concedes, 'the survey was broad-reaching and anonymous, [therefore] we are unable to verify if each respondent is truly in the postal code they have indicated.'"
The petition asks that the document and letters be shared with council for information and consideration when the draft community plan is reviewed.
"City planners should undertake to gather verifiable information to ensure that any development proposal they submit to city council for approval is based on accurate, reliable data that is protected from any form of manipulation," Mercier also explained to the NOW.
In the summer of 2020, city council gave staff the go-ahead to begin public consultations on developing urban village plans for the Bainbridge and Lochdale areas – the former located around the Sperling SkyTrain station and the latter at the east end of Hastings Street.
Assistant director of current planning Jesse Dill said in August 2020 that the intention was to increase the city’s housing stock beyond the four town centres, where plans call for high-density developments – namely high- and mid-rise apartment buildings.
In the urban villages, developments would lean more on gentle density, a term for row housing, low-rise apartment buildings and duplexes.
