Dear Editor:
Tuesday's public hearing included rezoning for a 134-unit condo with three to four bedrooms each off Sperling Avenue and Canada Way, and sharing road access with the busy mosque and the No. 1 Fire Hall. Residents raised concerns about traffic and access for the fire trucks, among other issues.
Mayor Derek Corrigan responded by repeatedly reminding them of the 1974 39-year-old Official Community Plan for the area and said residents should have known about that.
Perhaps having a bylaw that requires all realtors who sell property in Burnaby to provide potential buyers with a copy of the plans/zoning for the property would be a proactive step in insuring that 1974 plans are well known. (I have also been told that the Brentwood development plan is more than 20 years old and they are just following through with it.)
No traffic study had been done despite the fact that Canada Way is already challenging for locals and commuters.
I was on staff with the Burnaby School District for 40 years, and asked if the local school was prepared to absorb 200 plus new students.
Corrigan explained only that the school board is informed of new property developments. It was left to a local mother to clarify that Buckingham Heights Elementary is currently at maximum capacity and that the safest walk to school takes her 40 minutes.
I attended the hearing because it had been reported in the Burnaby NOW that the contentious Brentwood mall redevelopment was on the agenda. But that had been cancelled, again.
With planning like this for a mid-size project, what can we expect for the Brentwood monster project? And if the all-NDP school board and council don't coordinate on elementary school needs, how could they cooperate with the provincial government on a joint project like a new hospital?
Franca Zumpano, via email
Editor's note: Burnaby council postponed the Brentwood mall rezoning project from the Nov. 26 public hearing agenda to the Dec. 10 public hearing, instead.
