10/19/2025
ROCKY POINT PARK: At the Crossroads of Public Good and Private Gain
THE PROBLEM
In 2017, a council that included then-Councillor Meghan Lahti approved an OCP amendment allowing a dozen towers - up to 38 storeys - beside Rocky Point Park on the former Flavelle mill site. Years later, that development has never materialized. What has changed is that under now Mayor Lahti, the current council has approved and proposed even more extreme development elsewhere - including plans for 14 towers reaching 40 storeys in Moody Centre - all while keeping the same highrise vision alive for the mill lands.
If these plans proceed, the impact on Rocky Point Park will be undeniable: significant overcrowding. Port Moody’s population is projected to exceed 74,000 residents, more than double the 2021 census count of 33,000. Without significant park expansion, that means a 50% reduction in park space per person - and as a regional destination, the community’s beloved Rocky Point Park will feel the strain the most. It may be hard to even imagine the full impacts.
THE SOLUTION
Our community has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to expand Rocky Point Park westward - creating the green space we urgently need to match the city’s rapid growth. The foundation of this opportunity is clear: fair, transparent, and principled negotiation.
But fair negotiation starts with a fair foundation.
Right now, the vision in our Official Community Plan is not fair to residents - it reflects outdated assumptions about what our city needs. An OCP is meant to serve the community’s best interests, not speculative land values. And a city has every legal right to lead a change to its OCP when public needs outweigh private profit.
So when some suggest that revisiting the OCP is “unfair" to the developer, including members of council and those in the community who echo their views, the real question is: what about fairness to both the developer and the community? Those resisting change are effectively defending inflated land valuations - a speculative 5x increase in valuation after the OCP amendment.
The truth is straightforward: this land remains industrially zoned. That’s its lawful status, and that’s the fair starting point for negotiation. Adjusting the OCP to envision parkland isn’t “downzoning” - it’s democratic planning in action. Cities change their OCPs all the time - including, under this same mayor, when the Moody Elementary site was changed to future park space in the initial draft OCP despite not being city owned land. If you just changed the word "school site" to "mill site" the argument the Mayor made is almost verbatim the argument being made by Expand Rocky Point Park. So why should it be different when it comes to a developer’s land?
THE PATH FORWARD
Most people in Port Moody have a common sense view: they want a bigger Rocky Point Park, not more towers looming over it. Port Moody will have more than enough tower housing without building more beside the park. They want growth to pay for growth and contribute to Rocky Point Park expansion. They want creative solutions - such as exploring partnerships, land exchanges and regional collaboration - to help make this happen.
So why hasn’t it?
That’s the question we should all be asking.
Because the path is clear: the current OCP vision for highrises beside Rocky Point must change. Council can do that tomorrow. Until it does, every discussion about “park expansion” is just words without action. That is why we are continuing on with our important work in the community and we will not stop until the community sees a true commitment to Rocky Point Park expansion.
Real park expansion begins with a public vision, not a private one. And Port Moody deserves leadership that will make that vision real.
