Submitted Application

To create a vibrant, mixed-use neighbourhood in Moody Centre

The Moody Centre Transit Oriented Development (TOD) Master Planning Group began work on a master plan for Moody Centre after the vision for the area was adopted in the 2017 Official Community Plan. After years of community consultation and work with City staff, the Planning Group submitted their first application to the City of Port Moody in July 2020. After presenting the plan to the Community Planning Advisory Committee (CPAC) and City Council in late 2020 and early 2021, the Planning Group refined their proposal in response to the feedback received, and submitted a supplemental submission in April 2021which revised the proposed master plan to include:

A new job ratio:Increased office, technology and industrial jobs from a ratio of 0.26 per person to a range of 0.35 - 0.42 which is a ratio increase of up to 61%.
Additional open space:increased open space from 104,500 sq.ft. to 174,200 sq.ft., an increase of 66%. Our intent is to include green elements on all podiums and roof tops, where possible.
Reduced heights & density:the plan now reduces all towers to 26 storeys (or less) except for 3 towers closest to Moody Centre Station, while removing one complete tower.
Housing diversity:the revised application has provided greater housing diversity, with a larger shift to rental housing as well as much needed affordable housing units.
Institutional partnership:the Master Plan Group hopes to partner with a research university to provide this community with a satellite campus.
Greater social & environmental sustainability:the plan incorporates social, environmental and transportation sustainability through Happy City urban design principles, climate action commitments and a potential Provincial ITDP Pilot project.

Below are the details of the submitted application, including changes from the April 2021 supplement. To view the full application submission documents, please follow the links below:

Revised Moody Centre Master Plan

Community Driven Planning

For the Moody Centre vision to be realized, it must resonate with the people who know and love Port Moody the most: Port Moody residents and business owners. With this in mind, the plan has been directly influenced and informed by those who have participated in our engagement process to date. These community engagements and helping step towards the actualization of the City’s vision, building on 2 years of existing OCP consultation. As part of the ongoing discussion, Pottinger Bird Community Relations (“Pottinger Bird”) were engaged to facilitate a Preliminary Public Engagement Program with the Port Moody community on the future of this important neighbourhood. Port Moody’s Mayor, Council and Senior City Staff were formally notified of the commencement of the Public Engagement Program.

For a full list of our Public Engagement Program and the accompanying meeting summaries, please refer to our Community Input tab under the Early Concept section.

Amenities

The Master Plan represents a coordinated vision between multiple landowners in order to maximize the amount of open space and public realm amenities. It is a unique opportunity for the City of Port Moody to realize a sustainable, vibrant Moody Centre.

The revised Master Plan from April 2021 proposes a total of four acres of open space, which represents an increase of 66% compared to the original application from July 2020. This additional public open space can offer a variety of uses and functions which is anticipated to be programmed with input from the community at the Rezoning and Development Permit stages. Among others, these open space and public realm improvements include:

A New Creek

The daylighting of Dallas / Slaughterhouse Creek is a significant amenity that also has value for people, not just habitat. Through the incorporation of overlook areas and the creation of places for people to linger along the riparian edge, this daylit creek is a rich contrast to the urban environment in which it is situated.

A New Plaza

In addition to pocket parks, pedestrian mews, and a generally enhanced public realm, a new plaza is proposed around the station entrance. The creation of this plaza is a unique opportunity associated with this particular moment in time - the Moody Centre Master Plan.

Spring Street Promenade

A clearly stated ambition of the City’s OCP, the creation of an intimate street experience unlike any other in the lower mainland is also a priority of our proposal. Emphasizing pedestrians, cyclists, retail activity and including green spaces and residential entries, Spring Street will be a living street full of vitality and representative of the City of the Arts.

Pocket Parks

Pocket parks provide intimate scaled, weather protected and sheltered spaces that create comfortable micro-climate condition for its users. Pocket parks provide both a cooling effect against the urban island heat effect while also providing healthy green spaces and soft urban edges promoting well-being and outdoor activity.

Pedestrian Overpass

Through the development of PCI’s future project on Murray Street, the Master Plan will see the delivery of the pedestrian overpass connecting Moody Centre to Rocky Point Park, improving connectivity to the station for residents and visitors of the community, and promoting active and public transportation use.

For more information on the community amenities considerations within the proposal, please see page 36 of our application.

Sustainability

This Master Plan considers the 2019 Port Moody Action Plan and Climate Change Emergency Declaration to drive more forward thinking and planning around sustainability. Within the Master Plan, sustainability has addressed the following:

Daylit Creek

Moving forward, we propose condensing the creek name to simply “Dallas Creek”, a consideration consistent with many who attended our various public engagement forums.

Broad Habitat Value

The daylit creek provides more value than fish habitat and stormwater management. The riparian areas alongside the creek may be planted with bird and pollinator friendly plants bringing opportunities for local biophilia to thrive.

Architecture / Step-Code

The proposed Master Plan will be exploring Step Code and other similar green building standards, including low emission green buildings. The plan will adopt best sustainable practices related to surface water run-off and storm water management.

Greening and Softscaping

The Master Plan provides a series of dispersed pocket parks, neighbourhood mews and riparian creek landscapes that provide softscaped conditions. These improvements reduce the effects or urban heat island effect and assists passively in ground water management.

Car-Share / Mobility Shift Considerations / Active Transportation

The Master Plan provides considerations to a number of EV charging outlets (or EV-ready stalls) for commercial and residential structured parking. Additionally, the Master Plan contemplates providing locations on site where car-share, e-bikes and ride hailing could occur. These planning considerations will help reduce the number of cars within the community, while also promoting a shift in vehicle energy source and aligning our master plan with Climate Action Plan goals to have 50% of all cars driven on City roads be zero emissions vehicles by 2030.

For more information on the sustainability considerations within the proposal, please see page 48 of our application.

Mobility

The Moody Centre TOD plan presents a large opportunity for the City to concentrate its region’s growth in a transit-oriented location that preserves open and rural space. The plan presents an exciting prospect for a new and holistic approach towards transportation. The site will integrate multiple modes of mobility to provide a centralized nexus for transportation, helping the City realize its plans for a walkable and inviting City Centre area. New growth and the integration of transit into the urban fabric will contribute to the revitalization of Spring Street.

The City of Port Moody is geographically located in a natural commuter conduit for car traffic from Coquitlam, Burnaby and other municipalities traveling through Port Moody on their way to someplace else. Moody Centre provides the opportunity to improve the urban fabric by influencing the nature and destination of the traffic that causes the congestion. The key aspects proposed in the plan relating to mobility include:

Connections to Transit

As all of Moody Centre is in close proximity to the Moody Centre station and the West Coast express, the neighbourhood is poised to prioritize transit over other modes of movement. The plan proposes strong visual and physical connections to transit infrastructure.

Spring Street, Pedestrian Links, and Cycling Infrastructure

This proposal incorporates mid-block pedestrian linkages and a ‘shared-street’ concept design for the spine of the TOD- Spring Street. This results in a more accessible and enjoyable pedestrian environment.

Parking and Loading

As an urban, high-density, mixed-use precinct, the automobile is not the primary means of movement within the neighbourhood. Parking will be located within the development and screened. Loading will be located off of secondary streets and screened. All existing at grade parking will be replaced with the potential for a park and ride structure adjacent to Moody Centre Station. Alternative parking standards are proposed to limit the number of new vehicles introduced to the neighbourhood. Emergency target.

Moody Centre Streets, Not ‘Through’ Streets

The choices we have made in terms of neighbourhood design and transportation are focused on prioritizing Moody Centre streets as neighbourhood streets that serve Port Moody rather than simply moving traffic through Port Moody.

For more information on the mobility considerations within the proposal, please see page 58 of our application.

Urban Form

Our proposal puts forward urban form that has been derived from the cost of the amenities that are being proposed. Along with density and land-use, the proposal incorporates strategies around urban form that contribute to the quality of the urban environment. These strategies include:

Street Level

The proposal prioritizes active frontages, articulated facades, and high-quality materials. The lowest four storeys will define the street edge and be the predominate driver in contributing to the pedestrian experience.

Views

The spacing of tall buildings allows for views and sight lines to be maintained throughout the Moody Centre plan area. These primarily occur along street corridors and through the placement of taller buildings. Additionally, the building podium is setback on the eastern edge of William Street to provide a strong visual connection to the transit station from St. Johns Street.

A Fine-Grained Development Pattern

By introducing street level public passages, pocket parks, a mews, a daylit creek, and a plaza, the overall development pattern is ‘fine-grained.’ This means that there are more options for circulation for pedestrians and more opportunity for special programming and a diverse pedestrian experience.

Towers

The proposed strategy for tall buildings includes minimum tower separation of 25m and a maximum floor plate size of 8,500 Sf. The original application contemplated 13 towers with 6 of those towers over 26 storeys in height. Based on recent feedback received, one tower on a site not actively engaged in this application has been removed and the height has been reduced on all other towers to sit at or below 26 storeys, with the exception of 3 towers located immediately adjacent to the Moody Centre rapid transit station at the centre of the Moody Centre community. These three towers are proposed for extra heights to enable the inclusion of rental and social housing close to transit and services.

For more information on the urban form considerations within the proposal, please see page 68 of our application.

Land Use

Land use has been thought of in a holistic approach to fulfill the key components of a complete community. The Master Plan spatially plans for larger retailers such as neighbourhood grocery stores as well as small scale local retailers, creating a balance between daily necessities and convenient goods and uniquely small retail specific to Port Moody’s culture and identity.

Specifically, the Moody Centre Master Plan delivers the following land uses to promote a live, work, play neighbourhood within a comprehensive mixed-use format:

Residential
The proposed residential land use addresses housing needs in quantity and quality. Providing market condo and affordable housing including rent-to-own, affordable home ownership models, and rental tenures. These housing options help cater to a variety of demographics across social and economic diversities.
Office & Technology
These commercial uses provide a diverse range of well-paying jobs. In order to create a vibrant, equitable and complete community the plan requires this mix of diverse employment generating uses. The supplemented plan proposes to deliver employment-generating spaces that bring between 1,785 and 2,285 jobs.
Retail
Retail jobs bring a variety of skilled employees to cities. Furthermore, retail jobs help create vibrant store fronts and spill out into the public realm with activity at varying hours of occupation during the work and weekend week.
Institutional and Knowledge Centres
Urban post secondary educational institutions bring vibrancy and vitality to communities and encourage job growth. The adoption of the OCP Amendment application will enable the ownership group to actualize this vision and attract a post-secondary institution.
Light Industrial
Port Moody’s growing brewery culture provides an excellent location for the expansion of similar light industrial uses, artisan spaces and maker spaces.
Open Spaces
Lively open spaces promote livability by providing access to landscaping and biophillia where possible. The plan provides pocket parks, urban plazas, neighbourhood mews and a daylit creek.

For more information on the land use considerations within the proposal, please see page 76 of our application.

Density

The Port Moody OCP presently manages density through height permissions and built form guidelines meaning that the Floor Area Ratio (FAR) will vary on a site by site basis. This application proposes to clarify the maximum permitted FAR for the Moody Centre TOD area.

A maximum baseline density is proposed to create an upper limit on FAR for the entire Moody Centre TOD area. Not all properties in the OCP area will necessarily be able to achieve the maximum FAR due to property size, parking limitations, or height guidelines (see Urban Form section). The final maximum permitted density will be determined during the rezoning process.

The distribution of density and ‘shaping’ of the urban form are closely related and foundational aspects of the proposal for Moody Centre. This proposal seeks to increase permitted heights with Moody Centre (in select locations) while maintaining generous tower separation, limiting tower floor plate size, and introducing new open spaces and street level view corridors to the public realm.

By placing higher density close to transit, there is a reduced need for personal vehicle ownership and transportation. Providing a greater amount of multi-family housing will reduce auto trips by as much as 25%, or more, on a per capita basis compared to single family housing while also meeting mode share targets.

For more information on the density considerations within the proposal, please see page 86 of our application.