Fact-Checking Claims about the Moody Centre Framework (updated July 15, 2026)

Moody Station - SkyTrain

Last week at our Public Hearing on July 7, 2026, we heard - yet again - (at both the Council table and from people calling into Public Input) misinformation regarding the development of the Moody Centre Framework. I have written about the genesis of this framework several times in an effort to combat the misinformation and the fear-mongering we are seeing from some in our community, so I decided to combine all my previous posts into one cohesive summary as we head into an election period.

When misinformation is known to be false but repeated anyway, it becomes disinformation.

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The false claim: Council discussed and approved the Moody Centre Framework without considering resident input.

The truth is that the process actually began in December of 2016!

“The framework is an extraordinarily thorough piece of work and lays out expectations around urban design criteria related to artistic form, amenities, livable spaces, green space, employment space, road and pedestrian networks, view corridors and much more. .”

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Moody Centre Framework Development Timeline:

DECEMBER 2016

Translink launches its two brand new Skytrain Stations in Port Moody - Moody Centre and Inlet Centre. The City is expected to densify around these stations per provincial and GVRD policies and practices around transit hubs.

NOVEMBER 2017

The planning process for the Moody Centre Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Area begins concurrent with the updates to the Official Community Plan (OCP) specific to this neighbourhood.

Following the enactment of the 2017 OCP, and at the direction of the then-Mayor, PCI Developments convened Moody Centre TOD landowner group including the Province, TransLink, developers and family land owners.

The Moody Centre TOD Planning Group met several times with City staff and related community organizations to establish parameters for Moody Centre master planning. This extensive preliminary work continued through 2019 at which time the group commenced focused public and stakeholder engagement.

I have included the step-by-step engagement and public sharing events in the comments of this post for reference. Public input opportunities included open houses (I attended one in 2020), publicly-offered TOD walking tours (I attended one in 2022), engagement opportunities, presentations to community groups, Council and Committee meetings, etc.

In 2022, the consortium of landowners I mentioned above collapsed, and the City - recognizing we still needed a Moody Centre framework against which to evaluate the applications that it knew were coming - picked up the pieces to complete the work itself. Several consultants helped along the way, most notably Jim McIntyre and Graham Fligg.

In all, there were no less than fifty (50) public engagement opportunities provided to residents and stakeholders between 2017 and October 2024.

DECEMBER 2023

Council approves the new framework 5-1 (Lurbiecki opposed, Agtarap recused due to conflict), following several open and regular meetings where presentations on the evolving framework were shared and discussed. Even after the framework was approved, additional open meetings took place to tweak the framework, such as the meeting on Jan 14, 2024, where Council discussed specific streetscape design for the area; architect Perkins and Will attended and spoke at that meeting.

As we all know, the Provincial government has mandated significant densification and housing around our Skytrain stations, including Floor Area Ratio (also known as FARs) thresholds. Recently, certain Metro communities have attempted to resist pressure by the Province and have found out just how serious the Province is with these mandates. More about that in the comments.

I encourage everyone in our community to go watch the December 5, 2023 discussion on the City website – the framework is an extraordinarily thorough piece of work and lays out expectations around urban design criteria related to artistic form, amenities, livable spaces, green space, employment space, road and pedestrian networks, view corridors and much more. As the old saying goes, failure to plan is planning to fail.

FEBRUARY 10, 2025

Council votes 6-1 against holding a referendum to halt development in Moody Centre until we hold a referendum to relitigate our earlier decision to approve the Framework. (Motion brought by Cllr. Lurbiecki)

Several Councillors note that municipalities are required by the Province to move landowner applications through City planning in a timely manner and recently received legal advice to confirm this. We simply legally cannot "stop" development via a referendum or moratorium and all Councillors are well aware of this.

APRIL 2026

In a welcomed response to repeated and false claims that the Framework was approved by this Council without community or public input, Cllr Lubik brings forward the following motion at a regular Council meeting:

“That staff provide a brief timeline of the creation of the Moody Centre TOD framework including when, how and why it originated, goals, rationale for recommendations, and links to previous meeting discussion.”

Cllr Lubik noted correctly that the history of the Framework goes back many years, and was always intended to guide planning in the TOD area across several landowners.

Cllr Lurbiecki objects to Cllr Lubik's motion, saying it will result in a “curated story” by staff, and moves the following amendment:

“And that this include all engagement activities, including:

1. When and how external stakeholders including any land owners and developers were consulted prior to public release

2. Explanation of the determination of heights and density

3. How the 2022 OCP household surveys, specifically survey #3 Land Use scenarios were considered or not, in the development of framework, and

4. Sources of funding for the framework”

Cllr Lurbiecki’s amendments pass with the exception of point #3 because the 2022 surveys (taken prior to the introduction of the provincial government’s profoundly transformational housing legislation regarding minimum density around transit hubs in late 2023) were soundly discredited by experts in the field (including in a presentation to Council in February of 2025 and two separate news articles).

Staff are working on this timeline now and I hope we can soon have something in the public's hands that will - once and for all - end the claims that the Framework was passed without community input.

MOODY CENTRE TOD PLANNING GROUP - PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT TIMELINE:

August 2019 Initiate Moody Centre TOD Planning Process

- Website launch

- Neighbourhood and community wide invitations for participation

Sept 23, 2019 Stakeholder Roundtable Discussion Groups – Transportation, Circulation, and Public Realm

Sept 23, 2019 Stakeholder Roundtable Discussion Groups – Environmental Interests

Sept 25, 2019 Stakeholder Roundtable Discussion Groups – Economic Development

Sept 25, 2019 Stakeholder Roundtable Discussion Groups – Housing

Sept 26, 2019 Stakeholder Roundtable Discussion Groups – Non-Profit and Arts Organizations

Sept 26, 2019 Stakeholder Roundtable Discussion Groups – Community Associations

Oct 17, 2019 Presentation to Community Group – Tri Cities Chamber of Commerce Young Professionals

Oct 30, 2019 Moody Centre TOD Open House #1

Nov 2, 2019 Moody Centre TOD Open House #2

Nov 3, 2019 Project Website launched

Dec 2, 2019 Stakeholder Roundtable Discussion Groups – Urban and Architectural Design

Dec 2, 2019 Stakeholder Roundtable Discussion Groups – Public Realm and Arts

Dec 9, 2019 Stakeholder Roundtable Discussion Groups – Transportation and Circulation

Jan 21, 2020 Committee of the Whole

Jan 28, 2020 Moody Centre TOD Open House #3

Feb 1, 2020 Moody Centre TOD Open House #4

Feb 27, 2020 Presentation to Community Group – Environmental Stewards Meeting

Feb 28, 2020 Presentation to Community Group – Seniors Friendship Society

April 15, 2020 Presentation to Community Group – Simon Fraser University (SFU) Student Society, Board of Directors

July 1, 2020 TOD Application Submission (with notification E-blast to mailing list)

Aug 26, 2020 TOD Walking Tour #1

Sept 2, 2020 TOD Walking Tour #2

Sept 9, 2020 TOD Walking Tour #3

Sept 16, 2020 TOD Walking Tour #4

Sept 23, 2020 TOD Walking Tour #5

Sept 29, 2020 Presentation to Community Group – Tri Cities Chamber, Government Relations Committee

Sept 30, 2020 TOD Walking Tour #6

Oct 14, 2020 TOD Walking Tour #7

Oct 15, 2020 Community Planning Advisory Committee (CPAC)

Oct 21, 2020 TOD Walking Tour #8

Oct 28, 2020 TOD Walking Tour #9

Nov 4, 2020 TOD Walking Tour #10

Jan 1, 2021 Early Input at Council

April 1, 2021 TOD Group Supplemental Submission re: Master Plan

July 6, 2021 Moody Centre TOD Open House #5

July 8, 2021 Moody Centre TOD Open House #6

July 15, 2021 Happy Cities Wellbeing Workshop

As I mentioned above, the landowner consortium collapsed in early 2022 and the City took over the planning from here.