Heritage Management Strategy

The City plans to adopt a Heritage Management Strategy (HMS) that will establish a community vision for heritage and provide a comprehensive approach for how heritage is assessed, recognized, preserved and celebrated in Coquitlam. 

In April 2021, staff reported to Council on the most recent public feedback and outlined a new innovative approach being considered for Heritage Revitalization Agreements – a key tool for protecting heritage assets on private property – to be incorporated in the draft HMS and presented to Council this fall. For more information, view the Council report below.

Heritage Themes

The Heritage Management Strategy will utilize a thematic framework to help identify and recognize a range of sites that represent aspects of our local and regional history. Thematic frameworks are a cornerstone of contemporary heritage conservation planning and will assist in the development of policies and tools that will be the focus of the forthcoming draft Heritage Management Strategy.

Themes can be understood as key ideas for describing a major historical force or process that has contributed to the development of a place. The draft themes are:

• Uplands to lowlands – the impacts of natural geography;
• Regional nucleus – government services and institutions, such as post-secondary schools, growing  town centres and səmiq̓ʷəʔelə (Riverview);
• Diverse landscape, diverse people – the evolution of settlement and multiculturalism;
• Sustenance economy to commercial centre – changes to the local economy over time;
• Natural/cultural convergence – community life, events and parks;
• Canoe route to Skytrain – transportation and communication; and
• Evolving community identity – culture, local achievements and urban/neighbourhood identity.

These themes will continue to evolve based on feedback from Council, kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (Kwikwetlem) First Nation, stakeholder groups and the public.

(For a detailed review of how thematic frameworks are used and more information about the draft themes, click here)

Public Engagement

The City engaged the public in fall 2020 about all types of heritage – buildings, landscapes, culture and more – to help shape Coquitlam’s first Heritage Management Strategy since 2001. View the infographic summary of the public input below.

City staff have also been working with staff from the kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (Kwikwetlem) First Nation to ensure the HMS accurately reflects local Indigenous perspectives, and received feedback on the heritage themes, vision and values from Coquitlam Heritage, as well as the City’s Multiculturalism Advisory Committee, Culture Services Advisory Committee and Economic Development Advisory Committee.

Visit letstalkcoquitlam.ca/heritage to learn more about the public engagement process and subscribe for updates.  

Next Steps

With Council’s support, staff will continue to develop the improved new process and policies over the coming months. The public feedback received will also be considered as staff refine the themes, vision and heritage values and build out the draft HMS to present to Council in 2023.