Tensions flare at Anmore council meeting over Anmore South referendum demand

Hamilton Spectator

10-05-2025

Competing delegations clashed at a contentious Anmore council meeting on Tuesday night over a call for a referendum to decide the future of the largest development in the village's history.
On one side, representatives from the Anmore Neighbours Community Association (ARCA) and the Anmore Residents Association (ARA) accused Anmore South's public engagement process as being flawed, biased, and 'developer dominated.'
However, Icona Properties' CEO Greg Moore argued the engagement has been extensive, community-led, and supported by a majority of residents.
The level of support among Anmore residents has been a frequent point of debate as the project has advanced through council.
'Our council and city officials are conducting this process by putting the cart before the horse. They have forgotten to ask the primary questions: do we want it or not?' said Neil Lyons, an ARA director. 'Only a referendum can fix this tainted process.'
The development on Anmore's southwest border, dubbed Anmore South, is a 151-acre plan to develop 2,200 units in a variety of forms such as single-family houses, duplexes, townhomes, and low-rise apartments up to six storeys.
The plan also features commercial spaces, parks, a community centre, and an extensive trail network, and a connection to Metro Vancouver's wastewater system
If approved, the project could nearly triple Anmore's current population over the next two decades.
Icona submitted an application to amend the village's official community plan (OCP) in 2023, and council has since moved it past first reading, approved the neighbourhood plan's terms of reference, and endorsed a village-led
community engagement plan
.
Anmore has received technical studies from Icona, and recently presented the findings to the public at an open house in April 2025.
But despite a significant amount of public engagement to date, local groups claim the engagement plan and technical studies are designed to lend support to the development without an actual mandate from the community.
Rod Rempel, a representative of the recently formed ARCA, called into question the credibility of the technical studies, calling them 'misleading.'
ARCA has gone as far as commissioning its own technical experts to poke holes in the work.
'Technical studies were clearly done with a goal to provide positive feedback regarding the Icona's plan,' Rempel said. 'Issues of paramount importance like an evacuation plan, traffic, population growth, housing types, economic viability, ecology and our village lifestyle were oversimplified and overlooked.'
Moore said when Icona first made submissions to council in 2021, the project was a key topic of discussion during the 2022 municipal election.
He noted Mayor John McEwen clearly stated he did not want single-family homes developed on the property, while his challenger, Mario Piamonte, said he would only support one-acre lots.
McEwen won with 67.8 percent of the votes.
'That seems like a pretty clear direction from this community,' Moore said. 'This isn't anything new – when a NIMBY group gets together and starts to tackle an issue.'
Moore, who was once the mayor of Port Coquitlam, said it was 'disingenuous' for some residents to claim there has not been an opportunity to engage, noting there have been 28 different public engagements to date.
He said there are people who don't want growth, and would rather see Icona's property remain a forest, but they are outnumbered by those who want closer commercial space, amenities, and a diversity of housing.
'It's just mind boggling,' Moore said. 'I cannot think of one process when I was a city planner or at Metro Vancouver that went through and engaged the community that many times.'
A recent survey emailed to every household in Anmore as part of the village's communication plan should give council the 'conclusive' direction it needs, Moore added.
Regarding criticism of the technical studies, Moore said it's up to the council to determine which party is more credible.
During question period at the close of the meeting, council was hounded by residents who refused to refrain from speaking about the Anmore South application.
Anmore recently
updated its procedure bylaw
, prohibiting residents from asking questions about items that could be subject to a public hearing due to legal concerns associated with Bill 44.
Mayor McEwen ended up adjourning the meeting early due to the barrage of out-of-order questions. A previous meeting on April 15 ended in the same fashion.