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FRIDAY
FEBRUARY 15 2013 www.burnabynewsleader.com
Town hall draws 170 people Wanda Chow
wchow@burnabynewsleader.com
WANDA CHOW/NEWSLEADER
John Chow says the Sixth Street portion of Edmonds has seen its fortunes take a turn for the worse in recent years.
City hopes to boost 6th Street’s fortunes Updated plan aims to add more density, create more pedestrian traffic for businesses Wanda Chow
wchow@burnabynewsleader.com
In the 21 years since John Chow first opened Amorosa Pasta House at the corner of Edmonds and Sixth streets he’s seen a lot of change—for the worse. “A lot of businesses moved out, the building across the street used to be a medical building,” Chow said, but not so for the past 15 years.
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“Now it’s not even full.” Way, Sixth and Wedgewood Street. The loss of the lunch crowd is The current plan calls for the a concern but so is the fact there’s addition of 288 residential units and little pedestrian traffic. 730,000 square feet of commercial “It would be nice to space. make the area busier. In contrast, the video-online] Nighttime is pretty dead proposed amendments in the area.” burnabynewsleader.com shift the emphasis It’s perhaps no to more housing — surprise that Chow, for one, is adding an estimated 1,500 housing supportive of changes to the Sixth units and 620,000 square feet of Street Community Plan being commercial. proposed by Burnaby city hall. Currently much of the The plan was first adopted by commercial space in that area on council in 1982 and covers the area Edmonds and on Sixth, between bounded by Edmonds, Canada Edmonds and Graham Avenue,
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is zoned C4 “which is most often associated with auto-oriented commercial uses” and those which need large areas for storage and operations, said a city staff report. “Specifically, the C4 District does not permit general retail uses.” The proposal would designate that stretch of Edmonds as a “village street” characterized by four-storey buildings with retail, restaurants and pedestrian-oriented commercial spaces at ground level and apartments above. Please see PLAN, A3
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Organizers of a town hall held in the Edmonds community Tuesday night were “thrilled” that it attracted about 170 people. Joyce Rostron, former president of the Edmonds Business and Community Association (EBCA), said the crowd filled the gym at Edmonds school and generated many ideas during the community-building exercise. The meeting was held partly to find new blood and ideas to rejuvenate the flagging EBCA but also to address concerns from residents about the changes being planned in the neighbourhood, where redevelopment of a number of sites is on the horizon, Rostron said. The audience was assured by Burnaby planning staff that there will be public consultations as projects such as redevelopment of the Value Village site move forward. Participants were asked during the visioning exercise to express what they want or need in the community. Please see FOLLOW-UP, A4