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History and Details

In 2004, the city began a process to establish a restaurant in Rocky Point. This concept had been discussed, on and off, for many years, and had been investigated by various committees and task forces in the past. In September 2004, a public hearing was held in regards to this matter. At the public hearing, one person (from coquitlam) spoke in person , and two submissions (port moody residents) were received via email. The two Port Moody residents were opposed to the restaurant, the coquitlam resident spoke in support of it.
 
I attended this meeting, as I was opposed to the restaurant, but had heard general support in the community for something 'small, tasteful and reflective of Port Moody's character'. The diagram shown in the public hearing document package showed a small area on the western shore of the boat launch parking lot dedicated the restaurant. I did NOT speak against this at the public hearing as there seemed to be general support in the community, which was my biggest concern.
 
As the RFP process evolved, several meetings included a 'further exploration' of the concept with the RFP respondents. There were three responses to the RFP:
 
Sequioa Group - didnt seem to take it very seriously and never presented any 'made in Port Moody' concepts - they basically said "Here's what we have done elsewhere, and if we get the lease we'll do something good in Port Moody as well".
 
Spectra Group - the Specra group did a presentation at council and a public open house in the Galleria, showing their "West Coast Contemporary" design ideas. Their concept is based on the Boathouse 'formula' and is consistent with their other restaurants in the lower mainland.
 
Flying Fish - the Flying Fish Restaurant presented to council , what I considered a really innovative concept - a design that blended into the landscape, and included features such as a grass top roof and public access areas.
 
The city narrowed the candidates to TWO and later chose the Spectra Group over the Flying Fish due to concerns the city had with the Flying Fish Restaurants RFP responses. (The two parties are currently involved in a legal dispute and further details are not being released at this time.)
 
The city completed a "letter of intent" with the Spectra Group following council approval on November 22,2005.
 
Following the Nov 22 council meeting, the city website was updated with a press release on the contract award and showed a sketch drawing of the proposed Boathouse Restaurant - at this time, it became evident that the proposal included the elimination of much of the boat launch parking.
 
The loss of the parking has become a contentious issue amongst local boaters and residents, concerned about the loss of boat launch parking in favour of a commercial operation (Boathouse Restaurant), and about what they consider lack of public process leading up to this proposal.
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