In an introductory overview of the purpose of the OCP meeting tonight at the Council Special Committee of the Whole, a PowerPoint slide read, ”It is a general statement of Council’s objectives and policies to guide land use, servicing and the form and character of future development”.
I underlined the words guide and servicing above, because my concern is with the gaps remaining in the guiding (leadership) and servicing (delivering).
Following years of cries from taxpayers for goods and services to be made available in the west end of Port Moody, the city commissioned and received a report entitled, “Moody Centre Commercial Market Assessment and Revitalization Strategy 2005. The gaps identified in the report reinforced the overwhelming demand for basic goods and services, and the economic benefits of acting upon the findings.
As I’ve recently blogged again, there are still no, grocery stores, convenience stores, banks, or drugstores, in the west end of our city. We heard again tonight about those unmet needs, like just about every such OCP input meeting since that report was put in the hands of our elected officials and staff.
This report commissioned at taxpayers expense remains on the shelf at City Hall and has not been acted upon or updated, neither is it reflected in what we were shown tonight.
The gap that concerns me the most though, is the fact there is no comprehensive regional transportation plan. Transportation has long been an issue in Port Moody and throughout the entire north-east sector, and during every election.
Leadership involves making decisions, but making good decisions requires good background information. We have good information about the gaps in the provision of goods and services, and little information about what is required for a future transportation corridor to adequately service the region.
Putting any designation to future zoning in an OCP without having a transportation plan in place is, as I’ve said before, planning in a vacuum. Why have the discussions the past 6 or more years been dominated by trying to determine the optimal density, when we don’t know to what we need to optimize?
My expectations for the final vision were sure compromised tonight when the Mayor stated (his words) that they (council) will, “come to a grand compromise”.
Did you elect politicians to achieve a compromise, or deliver a big vision for the future? In fact to achieve a compromise we don’t need politicians at all, just a voting mechanism.
What’s happening is not what I would call, “visionary”, and neither is it showing leadership.