1980-1989
As the eighties unfold, "modern" Maillardville begins to emerge. In the previous decade, "Plan Maillardville" envisioned a revitalized French community within a mix of new housing types that would see a blending of traditional and modern. Although there was little visible accomplishment as a result of the plan, much of the groundwork that would shape the new Maillardville had been laid. A revised zoning map, a realignment of King Edward with Marmont, the suggestion of a "heritage square" and the building of Place Maillardville Neighborhood House all resulted from the plan. It was also at that time that the vision of reestablishing Maillardville as a French centre took firm root. As the decade of Terry Fox, the space shuttle Challenger disaster and Expo '86 opened, the village itself continued to teeter on the brink of disaster. A November 25, 1980 article from the Columbian remarked:
"There were good old days in Maillardville. There were times, and not so long ago, when you could walk from one end of Brunette to the other and shop and eat and have your car done, stop for a couple of beers and not speak a word of English. There were dances and socials. There were clubs. And Sunday services were packed for French language mass.....Nowadays there are still dances-but the only French heard is at individual tables....The community’s name is now pronounced "Ma-lard-ville" not "My-ar-ville", but no matter how they are pronouncing it, there are many people nowadays who are just saying "au revoir", Maillardville."
The degradation that Maillardville had suffered for the preceding ten years continued in the early eighties. Brunette was as bad as ever it was. City Hall continued to focus its attention and energy elsewhere, specifically the Town Centre. The Lower Mainland continued to pay homage to Maillardville, laying its garbage at her feet. With no gas control in place, and virtually no drainage, the facility at Terra Nova (present day Eaglequest Golf) had become a stinking, rotting mess. A vivid description of the site was included in this January 1982 Herald-Enterprise article:
"Cutting Down The Stink That putrid stench of rotting debris that permeates the air in the southwest corner of Coquitlam may be reduced in the new year if regional district takes steps to reduce the problem prove effective. The smell, which nearby residents know and hate, comes from the 70 acre Terra Nova garbage dump located west of the Fraser Mills plant site....When the wind is right, the smell can be detected in New Westminster and Port Coquitlam."
The regional district looked at various means to cope with the problem, although the dump was due to close that year. Unfortunately for Maillardville, the dump didn't close until 1985. Eventually, a partial solution was arrived at by the building of the Wastech recycling depot. When Terra Nova was finally terminated, a gas management plan was instituted that burned the methane that accumulated from the rotting mass. For many years, residents on the south slope of Maillardville could see the eerie blue flames flickering on the plain below.
In some ways Maillardville of the early eighties was not so very different from that of the forties. In both eras, the village itself was in need of building up. Francos cooperated with Anglos to benefit the community. The beleaguered town tried to fight back in the wake of Plan Maillardville. Following the Brunette Avenue upgrades in 1980, the shopping centre that housed such businesses as Johnstone Cleaners, Pant A Bode Discount Jeans, Lullaby Baby Shoppe and Zamys Supermarket, announced in the Enterprise in May, 1980:
"Whew! It's All Over! Brunette Is Now ready The Merchants of Maillardville would like to welcome back their old and some new customers...Come On Down To Maillardville"
The widening of Brunette resulted in a Council decision to severely restrict and eventually eliminate parking on that main commercial thoroughfare, bringing new hardship to its merchants. After their concerns were voiced, the present day parking lot on Adair was built. But several merchants, appealing to council in 1982 for at least some restricted parking to be left on Brunette, were not to be accommodated. New road notwithstanding, the Maillardville Shopping Centre, built some 22 years earlier, was itself run down and in need of a facelift. The Herald Enterprise, March of 1982 tells us that:
"M'ville Center Deal Dies A deal that would have seen a total renovation of the run down Maillardville Shopping Centre in Coquitlam has fallen through. Berkeley Point Development was bargaining with the owners, Jang Brothers, to buy the centre located at Brunette Avenue and Blue Mountain Street...."I was disappointed because I liked the project. We had a rendering done on the renovations and the municipality was very happy with it. The Centre's been an eyesore for years" he said"
As always, money was the final and only consideration and the renovation never took place. Everyone from residents and merchants to council and city staff recognized that the state of Maillardville was intolerable. In spite of all of the work accomplished with Plan Maillardville, the planned development stalled.
In 1980, Maillardville residents turned out en masse to support a Brunette landowner who fought city hall over the "down zoning" of his property. Woodwest Developments bought the property at the south east corner of Brunette and Schoolhouse with the intention of building a 46 unit apartment with at grade commercial. After the purchase was completed, council announced that it was proposing to rezone the land for light industrial. Company owner Murray Woods cried foul in a November 1980 article in the Enterprise, claiming that he had been working closely with city staff, with no mention of any problems. Seeing his project as a catalyst to Maillardville redevelopment, Woods stated: "We feel like we are chasing shadows. This area needs encouragement, not discouragement." The City went ahead with a public hearing on the rezoning, but Woods pre-empted it with a meeting of his own. Inviting residents to an information session on the site, he hoped to gain support for his position. The Enterprise, December 1983 commenting on the open house and Council's decision on the matter:
"Wood's Plans "Blown Away" Council elected by a 5-1 vote to change the zoning at the property from C-2, neighbourhood commercial to M-3, light industrial. The property has been the subject of a raging controversy the last few weeks as developer Murray Wood and the residents of Maillardville have fought to keep the area residential....Council burned down his appeal and Wood took his fight to the residents of the area. He held a coffee party and open house on November 15 and endeavored to explain to the people what he was planning to do.
Obviously he met with some success as 189 people signed letters to council stating that they did not want industry on Brunette. At the public hearing on November 17, it was standing room only as Maillardville residents turned out en masse to protest the planning department proposal."
The article goes on to report that council suggested Woods had not been totally truthful with residents in explaining the definition of "light industrial". Although a few of the residents changed their thinking, the majority remained supportive of Woods. Council disregarded the strong statement of the community and rezoned the land.
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