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Station Square moving ahead

The controversial Station Square development passed third reading at the Burnaby council meeting last night. Plans for the project include five residential towers ranging in height from 35 to 57 storeys.

The controversial Station Square development passed third reading at the Burnaby council meeting last night.

Plans for the project include five residential towers ranging in height from 35 to 57 storeys.

The development was the impetus for a petition by Metrotown resident Carly Franklin, who is asking that Burnaby council cap highrise heights in the Metrotown area.

Mayor Derek Corrigan said the feedback from the public hearing in September 2011 was primarily supportive of the project.

"I thought when it came through, there might be issues in the community because this is a major change that's occurring," he said. "But it's been received very positively."

Residents of the area seem to understand Station Square is an important element in the neighbourhood, Corrigan said.

"They're seeing it to be a key development right in the middle of Metrotown," he added.

Staff has responded to issues raised by the community regarding the development, he said.

The staff report on the rezoning application included the notes from the public hearing in September.

A handful of people appeared at the hearing to support or voice concerns about the development, while more than 20 letters were sent supporting the rezoning application.

Two letters and one statement were also submitted, detailing residents' concerns.

Burnaby's advisory planning commission - which advises council on land use matters and reviews city zoning bylaw amendments - said it did not support the rezoning application. The commission said it supported the concept of densification but was concerned about the scale of the development and its affect on local infrastructure.

The Burnaby Public Library board expressed concerns about the development's potential effect on the Bob Prittie library's parkade, as well as traffic in the area.

Franklin was not able to attend Monday night's council meeting but said in an email that she's disappointed by the decision to move forward on the project with the current tower heights.

"The whole situation is very short-sighted," she wrote, "make a quick buck at the expense of long-term livability."

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