Hello neighbours,

Another month is over. This month was busy: I attended High Ground: Tipping Points conference, HUB Cycling Awards, went to Ottawa, plus the usual Council meetings and work. And of course, as parents of school-aged children will know, it was also Spring Break.

Award: Hub Cycling Infrastructure Improvement Award

Cllr Lubik and I attended the 12th Annual HUB Bike Awards on March 8. We were honoured to accept, on behalf of the city, the HUB Cycling Infrastructure Improvement Award for the St Johns Multi-use Pathway. We are slowly but consistently working to #ungapthemap and improve our active transportation infrastructure (separate post coming soon on traffic, transit and active transportation).

High Ground 2025: Tipping Points

This was my first year attending the Centre for Civic Governance’s annual conference. The theme, Tipping Points: Navigating Turbulent Times, was timely and sought to explore the question of whether things are falling apart or if it only feels that way.

There were many great sessions and workshops, but the ones that stood out for me were:

• At the Breaking Point: Mental Health Policy and Political Leadership in a Shifting Civic Landscape

• From Eco-Anxiety to Action: How Local Leaders Can Implement Meaningful Climate Solutions

• Political Polarization, Division and the Rise of Conspiracy in BC

For inquiring minds, this was a self-funded conference. It is not one of the standard council conferences that are pre-approved for Council attendance.

March Council Update

Key highlights:

• HUB Bike Awards (March 8, 2025)

• Neighbourhood Energy Utility (March 18)

• Early input on Anthem Moody TOD application (March 18)

• Noise Camera Pilot (March 18)

Neighbourhood Energy Utility

Council approved a Neighbourhood Energy Utility (NEU) design study (funded from the Climate Action Implementation Reserve; no taxation impact). The design study will consider a centralized sewer heat recovery system and investigate the feasibility of including geo-exchange on building anchor piles (thanks to Council for endorsing my amendment to explore including innovative technology).

This is exciting for the city, though we have many steps to complete before we see this potential new utility added. An NEU is positive in many ways—it can reduce the load on the electrical grid, uses waste heat (and potentially other renewable technologies), saves space in buildings, among other benefits. You can see the presentation here.

And a few other things

Council talked about the Moody Centre Spring Street Streetscape Design Guidelines. I recused myself from any discussion on the Moody Centre Design Guidelines as well as any discussion on Moody Centre as a whole due to my family’s business being located within the Moody Centre area.

We provided early input on a TOD rezoning application at 2914-2934 St Johns St, 85-87 Williams St and 2911-2925 Spring St (check out engage.portmoody.ca for details). We also talked about the impacts of US tariffs and have asked staff to monitor the impacts, work with Invest Vancouver, review our purchasing policies and regulations and streamline so we can respond more nimbly to economic threats, and to look for additional opportunities to promote buy local/Canadian.

And, I am excited to say that Council authorized staff to proceed with a noise camera pilot project. Staff will provide updates in future, and the pilot project is expected to be implemented in the third quarter of this year (July-September 2025).

Conversation with our MLA

We invited our MLA to come to council and chat about some of the challenges related to funding, housing and health care services, among other topics. You can watch the verbal presentation here. 

My questions centred on DCCs for non-market housing, SSMUH legislation’s (permits multi-units on single-family zoned properties) lack of flexibility or consideration of context, desperately needed funding for transit, and the challenges with BC Housing’s rigid funding programs. My questions and comments start at 1:05:08.

Some of the statements from our MLA left me puzzled, as these comments seemingly contradicted previous communications from the province on housing targets and legislation, how we meet these, and our options. I know our staff is working on obtaining clarity; I look forward to future conversations with our MLA and opportunities to work together on improving infrastructure in our community, especially health care.

Links to March Agendas

• Public Hearing - March 4, 2025 (zoning bylaw housekeeping amendments)

• Regular Council Meeting - March 11, 2025

• Council Standing Committees - March 18, 2025

• Regular Council Meeting - March 25, 2025

Important Upcoming Dates

• LAST CHANCE TO APPLY: Port Moody Youth Scholarship applications open Feb 3, and close Mar 31.

• Public Hearing - PCI Moody TOD application, April 1, 7 pm

• Land Use Committee - April 7, 7 pm

• Youth Sports Award, nominations are open (closing Apr 30).

• Bike to School Week, HUB Cycling, June 2-6. Register before May 21 for a free bike to school week package.

Other news

FCM’s Inclusive Climate Action in Tunisia Municipalities (ICATM) - I'm thrilled to be part of the Inclusive Climate Action in Tunisia Municipalities (ICATM) program, led by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and fully funded by Global Affairs Canada. My recent trip to Ottawa provided valuable training and an opportunity to connect with fellow participants from various municipalities. In May, I will be traveling to Tunisia to contribute to this initiative, which aims to enhance climate adaptation and resilience in Tunisian municipalities while advancing equity for women and vulnerable communities.

Did you know?

CleanBC now offers rebates and support for multi-unit residential buildings. The Multi-Unit Residential Building Retrofit Program has numerous benefits: increased energy efficiency = lower costs for residents, increased property value, improved building comfort, and improved resiliency to extreme weather events like the 2021 heat dome. Learn more here.

What I’m reading this month (and thinking about)

Watch a short video on Canada’s Infrastructure Deficit (from the School of Cities).