Council and residents alike were briefed Monday on the progress of what will become the largest neighbourhood in northeast Coquitlam within the next 20 years.

Staff provided what was referred to as a "check in" regarding the Partington Creek Neighbourhood Plan at Monday's committee of the whole meeting.

Headed up by community planner Andrew Young, the presentation gave staff an opportunity to provide population and density projections, while addressing the work that needs to be completed before the plan comes back for final approval in "mid 2012."

"When adopted, Partington will be the largest neighbourhood in the area encompassing approximately 260 hectares, [or] about 650 acres of land," Young said.

"And when fully developed, it is expected that between 10,000 and 13,000 will live there."

Young also noted a number of tasks that have been completed and others that are currently underway: building designs are being examined, as are options around the creation of community spaces and places. Fire risk mitigation and steep slope hazard studies are ongoing, and a servicing strategy is also being developed.

Another issue being dealt with is the city's considerable stake in the area, as close to 30 per cent of the land in that pocket of northeast Coquitlam are owned by the city.

City manager Peter Steblin noted that he's tasked a pair of senior staff members - Maurice Gravelle, the city's general manager of strategic projects and Perry Staniscia, the city's manager of lands and properties - to take on a role that would see them acting almost as de facto developers on the part of the city without interfering with the role of the city's head planner, Jim McIntyre.

"I have charged them with the responsibility to act in precisely that way without fettering [McIntyre's] role as the planner that he should normally do. His role should be no different in this case than if somebody else owned the land," Steblin said.

Young noted that the need for new parklands will be offset to a certain extent in the area, given the neighbourhood's close proximity to Pinecone Burke Provincial Park and Minnekhada Regional Park.

"This approach provides neighbourhood and city-wide benefits by allowing the city to consider whether it should allocate park development cost charges and other city resources for parkland acquisitions and park improvements to other areas in the city," he said.

As for timelines, Young noted that future workshops with area stakeholders are expected to wrap up in late March or April, before staff brief council again in April or May.

From there, a final public open house will be slated for late April or early May, while the plan's final adoption is hoped to take place shortly thereafter.

jkurucz@thenownews.com

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