At Council-in-Committee on April 8th, Council received a report for information regarding early findings concerning the Southwest Housing Review (SWHR) and the implementation of the Provincial mandates. Staff introduced the Community Baseline tool in an update report regarding the SWHR at the June 5th, 2023 Council-in-Committee meeting. To address changing planning priorities, staff are expanding the Community Baseline tool citywide to support the implementation of the Provincial legislative mandates on housing. 

Early findings for the Southwest Corridor Review were found include using the Community Baseline tool: 

• Building age data suggests incremental redevelopment could occur throughout Southwest Coquitlam. Further analysis will incorporate land value ratio, as well as property-level results to identify implications for land use, land assembly, and servicing. 
• There are segments adjacent to all main corridors with poor street connectivity, which can pose a challenge for accommodating growth. Street and pedestrian network improvements can be achieved through development, but experience in the Burquitlam-Lougheed neighborhood suggests higher densities are needed to make the construction of new streets through development viable. Achieving walkways and micro-mobility pathways may be more feasible at lower densities. 
• Key corridors such as Austin Avenue, Como Lake Avenue, and Blue Mountain Street generally score well concerning proximity (i.e. walking distance) to services and amenities. Development in higher-scoring areas will likely require less infrastructure and amenity investment to achieve walkable, complete communities. 
• Current hydraulic modeling shows areas where the utility infrastructure might not have sufficient residual capacity to facilitate development along Como Lake Avenue, Blue Mountain Street, and segments of Austin Avenue, without already identified upgrades planned for future years. Additional sanitary and drainage modeling is required to better understand the implications for all corridors. 

Early implications for Transit Oriented Areas (TOAs) and Small-Scale Multi-Unit Housing (SSMUH) include: 

• Staff do not anticipate that the build-out of SSMUH will be spread evenly across the City in the near term. An analysis of the likelihood of redevelopment will help with understanding where SSMUH development may concentrate. This will assist in decision-making around servicing and infrastructure investments. 
• Provincial legislation related to TOAs requires that medium to high densities be permitted in some historically low-density neighbourhoods, near transit such as the area south of the CPR rail corridor that is part of the Coquitlam Central Station TOA. This area has limited connectivity to Coquitlam Central Station, in addition to relatively poor road connectivity and lack of walkability to certain services and amenities, such as commercial areas and schools. 
• The infrastructure capacity data for Southwest Coquitlam alone shows that significant upgrades may be required to accommodate the provincially mandated growth through legislation pertaining to TOAs and SSMUH. Additional modelling is required to assess infrastructure capacity and determine the upgrades required to service TOA and SSMUH development in historically low-density neighbourhoods. 

More information can be found in the full report by City staff.