Coquitlam City Councillor Matt Djonlic acknowledges that housing and affordability are major issues and that more rental and subsidized housing is needed in Coquitlam. He says the new Provincial Housing Legislation (Bills 44, 46, 47, and 16) densifies housing and presents a seismic shift in terms of how housing, including affordable housing gets approved, and financed, and how it shapes communities. City resources have been diverted into ‘digesting’ the new Legislation.

The City of Coquitlam is still waiting for clarification on regulations from the Province, however, Matt says the new Housing Legislation gives more control to developers and less to Municipalities, thus making the creation of complete communities more challenging. Ensuring adequate infrastructure is in place and removal of parking requirements in high-density areas could pose additional challenges within Coquitlam neighbourhoods.

The new legislation is largely silent on the issue of creating climate-resilient communities according to Matt. He understands the importance of the Urban Forest and feels that utilizing City-owned public land will be important to retaining a healthy Urban Forest. It is unclear whether City Tree Bylaws will remain in effect, clarification from the Province is much needed. Matt gives a shout-out to the good work done by City staff concerning tree education and maintenance.

Matt also talks about the changing situation at 3030 Gordon Ave, which is the only supportive housing site and shelter space in the Tri-Cities. The combined affordability, toxic drug, and mental health crises, as well as the loss of Federal grants and the closing of other facilities, have resulted in an encampment outside of the housing shelter. Help from the Province is needed to fund, build, and operate more housing with wrap-around supports.

Design and construction of the new Burke Mountain Rec Centre and Library are underway, two affordable seniors’ housing sites are being built on City land prioritizing Coquitlam seniors, and implementation of real-time water quality monitoring across all development sites are some of the good news stories that Matt shared.