Hi there neighbours,

Thank you for reading these updates. I hope they are useful.

We are officially less than one year out from the next local election. Apparently, this is what some call “silly season”. It feels a little early to be campaigning, but to each their own. We still have significantly important work to focus on over the next 11 months.

I am glad that we have local news again – if you missed it, we now have Freshet News, a worker-owned co-op. Their About Us page states: “And for readers facing a news desert alongside a growing deluge of mis- and disinformation online, we aim to stand firm as a reliable source of quality journalism embedded in the community.”

I look forward to reading their stories.

In this newsletter:

• Highlights of the month

• Current Port Moody Elementary Site & OCP

• Kyle Seniors Housing Decision

• City Manager Update

• Council meeting links

• Other useful things

Highlights of the month

As usual, I’ve highlighted a few items below that are especially important or interesting. For a full picture, you can find links to Council meetings at the bottom of this newsletter.

• [Opinion] OCP Consultation: A comparison of Port Moody's OCP consultation with other communities (Oct 6)

• OCP First Reading (Oct 7)

• Current Port Moody Elementary site & the OCP: what was all this about? (Oct 7): This needs some clearing up - read on below.

• Kyle Seniors Housing (Oct 14) - my reasons for declining to send the project to second reading

• Metro Vancouver Parking Study - Presentation (Oct 21) & Report

• 2026 Budget consultation - don’t forget to do the survey!

• October 28 verbal report regarding gaming revenue – I asked for the city to send a letter to the Minister of Finance and also file a complaint with the BC Ombudsperson on the principle of administrative fairness. I will provide updates as our complaint progresses.

• [Opinion] Cities with Casinos Pay Less: Why this is a problem for everyone else (Oct 31)

Events I attended (not including regularly scheduled council meetings):

• October 3: Metro Vancouver Board Meeting (alternate director)

• October 6: Land Use Committee

• October 8: Youth Focus Committee

• October 9: Arts, Culture and Heritage Committee

• October 15: Port Moody Heritage Society AGM

• October 16 & 17: Budget Workshop

• October 18: Tri-Cities Prayer Breakfast

• October 24: House post blessing ceremony

• October 25: Metro Vancouver Council of Councils

• October 27: Climate Action Committee

• October 30: FCM Inclusive Climate Action in Tunisian Municipalities (Port Moody team meeting)

October photos – no photos of council-related events because I am terrible at taking photos, but here are some photos from this month.

More details on recent council decisions

I don’t wish to rehash or relitigate the decisions we made at the council table, but I do want to explain (in a bit more detail) my thoughts on these two items in particular, since colleagues have highlighted them and shared their own thoughts.

Current Port Moody Elementary Site & OCP (Oct 7)

At the first reading of the OCP, the draft land designation of the existing Moody Elementary site (Moody at St Johns)

I voted not to remove the parkland (keep it P1 - institutional) designation at First Reading for a few reasons:

• We could have still done that at the second reading.

• I wanted to hear more from staff about the implications of leaving it designated as parkland in the OCP and have a fuller discussion with more information.

• Fundamentally, I do not think we should be making quick decisions because our City Manager got a message from an interested party. If it wasn’t the school district texting her, would we have responded the same way?

• OCP land use designation does not change the current zoning.

• We can’t have a designation that says if not institutional, then park.

• This differs from the Flavelle/Oceanfront site in that it is public land, not private.

I don’t know Cllr Dilworth’s reasoning, nor my colleagues who voted to change the proposed parkland designation. If you missed it, you can watch the discussion on the First Reading of the OCP here. Skip ahead to the 1:01:40 mark to see the start of the discussion on the current Moody Elementary site.

Kyle Seniors Housing Decision (October 14)

Council declined to send this proposal to second reading, voting 5-1. Seniors housing is needed – at all price points, but in my opinion, this project did not provide what we, as a city, were looking for.

I felt this proposal had not adequately addressed previous concerns expressed at first reading. Additionally, by converting market ownership units to rental, the project avoided the need to provide below-market units as per the inclusionary zoning policy.

The province now permits (and authorizes) an inclusionary zoning by-law (as opposed to only a policy). You can think of a policy as a guideline; it outlines what the City would like to see happen, while a bylaw is a legal rule that developers must follow.

Watch the discussion here.

City Manager Update

Every few weeks, the City Manager sends a summary out to staff about Council activities. You may see these shared by other members of council on social media. I will include these here periodically. This is verbatim; I have not changed any words, only formatted for readability and shared with permission.

October 7 Special Council: Council gave first reading to City of Port Moody Official Community Plan Bylaw, 2026, No. 3522. October 14 Regular Council Meeting:

1. Council scheduled the Delegation from the Strong Cities Network – Foundation for a Path Forward for consideration at a future meeting.

2. Council approved the 2026 Council Meeting Schedule. No meetings will be held during Spring Break. The Regular Council meeting is set for March 10, 2026, and the Standing Committee meeting for March 31, 2026.

3. Council gave first three readings to the City of Port Moody Permissive Tax Exemption Bylaw, 2025, No. 3518.

4. Council gave first three readings to the City of Port Moody Zoning Bylaw, 2018, No. 2937, Amendment Bylaw No. 111, 2025, No. 3517 (120 April Road) (RS1-S), and chose not to refer the bylaw to a Public Hearing.

5. Council authorized the Mayor to sign a Letter of Support for the Kwikwetlem First Nation’s Reeve Slough Salmon Habitat Reconnection project.

6. Council approved an additional $10,000 in funding to enhance Recreation Inclusion Services and requested that this amount be included in the Recreation Services Division’s 2026 draft budget for consideration. A related motion was passed directing staff to incorporate annual reviews of recreational and arts programming into the IDEA Committee and Seniors Focus Committee work plans to identify opportunities for inclusion and diversity.

7. Council gave first three readings to the City of Port Moody Housing Agreement Bylaw, 2025, No. 3516 (Coronation Park – Phase 1) for market and below-market rental housing. Variations to the City of Port Moody Subdivision and Development Servicing Bylaw, 2010, No. 2831 were approved for Phase A, specifically in Section 6.0 Definitions and Sections 13.2 and 13.5, to allow surety bonds as a form of security.

8. Council approved the 2025–2026 Youth Focus Committee Work Plan.

9. Council defeated the City of Port Moody Official Community Plan Bylaw, 2014, No. 2955, Amendment Bylaw No. 35, 2024, No. 3428 and the City of Port Moody Zoning Bylaw, 2018, No. 2937, Amendment Bylaw No. 86, 2024, No. 3429 (2505–2517 St. George Street and 123–129 Mary Street) (CD91). Following the defeat of the above bylaws, Council directed staff to investigate and report back on opportunities for affordable seniors housing, particularly for those at risk of or experiencing homelessness. This includes:

   1. The province renting apartments or subsidizing in Port Moody rental projects such that they are attainable with SAFER or other top-up funding and connecting those in need with those units; and

   2. Metro Vancouver waiving DCC in exchange for affordable rental units they could have access to for clients in need.

   3. Council directed staff to engage with The Ministry of Infrastructure and Fraser Health on opportunities for Long Term Care in Port Moody on public land and private developments and directed staff continue to engage with the Ministry of Infrastructure and Fraser Health regarding long term care opportunities in Port Moody with periodic reporting back to Council.

10. Council approved Development Variance Permit DVP00027 for 832 Ballantrae Court (Westridge Engineering & Consulting Ltd.).

11. Council defeated the proposed FIFA World Cup Celebrations project.

12. A notice of motion was introduced regarding revenue losses from Burrard Thermal property tax appeals and plant decommissioning. The motion includes that staff bring forward the 2026 Tax Policy and 2026 Tax Rate Bylaw, proposing the Class 2 (Utility) tax rate be set at the legislated cap of $40 per $1,000 of assessed taxable value to maximize tax revenues from the Burrard Thermal site. This motion will be debated at a future meeting.

October 21st Committee Meetings:

City Initiatives and Planning Committee

1. Council received the presentation from Metro Vancouver regarding Metro Vancouver Regional Parking Study Findings for information.  Finance Committee

2. Council received the October 21 report regarding the 2025 Financial Plan Forecast for information.

3. Council approved an additional budget up to $22,000 from the Development Process Reserve in order to complete the Spring Street Streetscape Design Guidelines.

4. Council received the memo 2025 Grant Tracking - January to August Update for information.

5. Council received the memo 2025 Council Contingency Update - 3rd Quarter for information.

6. Council received the Contract Awards over $200,000 - September 1, 2025, to September 30, 2025 memo for information.

Governance and Legislation Committee

1. Council directed staff to coordinate with the Port Moody Foundation to develop a potential transition plan and grant allocation process, whereby the Foundation would administer the City’s Community Grants Program. Council also directed that staff conduct a municipal scan and report back on the use of Citizen Advisory Groups or similar community groups in other municipalities.

2. Council received the report from the Project Delivery Services Division regarding City-Wide Inflow and Infiltration Reduction Strategy, and Sewerage and Drainage Regulation – Bylaw No. 3519 and Bylaw No. 3520 for information. Council directed staff to bring forward City of Port Moody Sewerage and Drainage Regulation Bylaw, 2025, No. 3519 to a Regular Council meeting for consideration of first, second, and third readings. Council also directed staff to bring forward City of Port Moody Municipal Ticket/

Council meetings links

• Official Community Plan - First Reading (Oct 7)

• Regular Council Meeting (Oct 14)

• Council Standing Committees (Oct 21)

• Regular Council Meeting (Oct 28)

Other useful things

• Do you need a doctor? Register at the Health Connect Registry. The ministry uses this to measure need in a region. Signing up helps to demonstrate that primary care physicians are needed in specific areas.

• Have you signed up for the Port Moody Events Newsletter? If not, email [email protected]. Read it below.