Burnaby resident Stephan Rowe has grand visions for the city, but Burnaby council won't be considering them in the near future.
Rowe, a graphic artist who designs landscapes for Electronic Arts' games, has created a concept for a large vacant property along Kensington Avenue.
He presented the idea for a swimming lake and concert amphitheatre to Burnaby council at Monday night's meeting.
Rowe drives past Kensington Avenue and Joe Sakic Way on a daily basis, he says. On the west side of Kensington Avenue is the approximately 65-acre site where material from the Burnaby Lake dredging project was placed.
He thinks the spot would be ideal, as it is at the centre of Metro Vancouver, for a large public space with a man-made lake for swimming, concert area, trails and more, he said.
But the space is designated for playing fields, Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan said at the meeting.
"I still feel like it's a way better choice than soccer fields or baseball diamonds," Rowe said of his concept in a followup phone interview.
Rowe believes the site could be a big tourist draw for the region and would create its own mini economy, with concession stands and concert ticket sales, he said.
There aren't any swimmable lakes in the area, he pointed out, and people would definitely prefer it to swimming in pools if it were available.
But he was only pitching the concept to council to run with, he said, and it didn't seem like they caught it.
"I didn't feel like they were really too interested in it," he said. "But it is a big thing to come out of the blue like that."
Rowe isn't looking to make money on the concept - he just thought it would be something people in Burnaby and throughout the region would enjoy, he said.
"I have a full-time job, I have kids, I coach soccer, I'm writing a book - I don't have the time or funds to do full-on research and find out how much this is going to cost," Rowe explained. "I'd be more than willing to help, but I don't have the funds."
Burnaby council expressed some concerns about the idea, including geese and ducks being attracted to the lake.
Another issue is the rainy climate, Corrigan pointed out, as the lake could only be used for swimming for part of the year but would require constant maintenance.
The lake could be specially designed with foliage away from the edge to discourage fowl from fouling up the waters, and to make it easier to maintain, Rowe replied.
The ground at the site is a peat bog, which would make installing and maintaining a lake there difficult, Coun. Dan Johnston mentioned.
Corrigan suggested the idea might be a better fit for Surrey, which doesn't have any natural lakes and is considering a manmade water feature.
But council forwarded the idea on to the parks commission.
"It's a very interesting idea," Corrigan said. "I love to see imagination from our citizens."
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