COQUITLAM, B.C., Sept. 23, 2022 – A newly released video showcases some of the many partnerships that make Coquitlam an attractive place to live, work, learn and do business.
Entitled Partnerships for Progress, the video was screened at the International City/County Management Association conference held in Columbus, Ohio Sept. 17 to 21 and features footage from throughout Coquitlam and interviews with Coquitlam’s Mayor, City staff, and businesses, organizations and developers working in the community.
Now available on Coquitlam’s YouTube channel at youtube.com/cityofcoquitlam or by going to https://bit.ly/CoquitlamPartnerships, the video highlights some of the partnerships that are central to the services, amenities and high quality of life available in Coquitlam.
Case Studies Highlight Partnership Benefits
Coquitlam regularly partners with developers, business associations, non-profit organizations, schools, post-secondary institutions and others for projects that have delivered millions of dollars’ worth of services and amenities to the community. Examples include new and upgraded fields and facilities, purpose-built rental housing, economic development and recreation and cultural services.
In particular, three strong examples were selected as case studies for the video:
- YMCA: This partnership between the City, YMCA and Concert Properties is delivering a 55,000-square-foot recreation facility with pool, Community Policing Station, park and ride lot and urban park space along with rental and strata housing in Burquitlam. Involving more than 100 agreements and an innovative land swap, the partnership is providing a much-needed recreational centre without the tax impact of operating costs. Construction of the recreation and community amenities will be completed this year.
- Austin Heights Business Improvement Association: Serving the City’s first business improvement area, the BIA has created a distinct brand and voice for this long-time shopping area through beautification, improvements such as bike racks and banners, Daisy Days and other community events, marketing campaigns including a Bike to Shop program, and community-building activities such as pop-up parks, edible gardens and cigarette butt recycling.
- Housing Affordability Strategy: Adopted in 2015, the HAS leverages Coquitlam’s tools as a municipality to provide incentives to developers to create rental units and to build partnerships with senior levels of government and housing providers to deliver housing projects. Coquitlam is now a regional housing leader for purpose-built rentals, with 300 new rental homes constructed last year and more than 12,000 now in development – including more than 2,000 below-market or non-market units. The City also supports affordable housing through its Affordable Housing Fund, which is funded by development fees and dispersed more than $4 million last year.
Other examples of City of Coquitlam partnerships include:
- A long-time joint-use agreement with School District 43 to share costs and access for new and upgraded fields, recreation and school facilities, parks and other amenities;
- Work with Dillon Consulting to employ their summer student program to deliver community education in support of the City’s Wildlife Attractant Reduction program, which recently received an award from the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) for Excellence in Service Delivery;
- The City’s award-winning Community Support & Recovery Plan, which invested $4 million in pandemic relief supports over two years for individuals, businesses and organizations;
- Partnerships with developers that bring new amenities and services, including millions of dollars in funding for schools, parks, trails and a community centre; and
- Operating partnerships with organizations and businesses that provide public ice time and a variety of cultural services.
Promoting Coquitlam to an International Audience
Developed by WebsEdge for the ICMA conference, the video was created as a result of Coquitlam staff’s involvement in the ICMA, which brings together civic managers from around the world and promotes best practices in civic governance. Coquitlam was offered the opportunity to create a video based on its demonstrated success in the themes for this year’s conference, including effective collaboration and partnerships.
The project provided the City with professionally-produced videos in various lengths, in addition to several hours of additional community footage for use in future promotional and educational materials related to City services and initiatives, tourism, economic development and other functions.
Media contact
Peter Steblin
City Manager
604-927-3006
managersoffice@coquitlam.ca