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AWARE wants largest unprotected wetlands preserved

Environmental group asks council to remove sites from housing study

Whistler’s environmental group is calling on the municipality to remove two privately owned potential development sites from its recent resident housing study.

The sites are part of the largest unprotected wetlands in Whistler, namely the Millar/Alpha Creek lands located north of Function Junction and bordered by the highway on the eastside, the railway line on the west side and Alta Lake Road to the north.

"It’s basic ecology," said Wendy Horan, president of AWARE.

"The larger the green space, the more bio-diversity you have, the healthier the system.... You can’t keep throwing developments into a wetlands area, even an upland area, and not expect it to impact – smart growth or no smart growth."

AWARE’s strong position on the wetlands is not a new one but has been reinforced after the recent study, entitled Comparative Evaluation of Potential Resident Housing Sites in Whistler, identified parts of the wetlands complex for possible development.

The study rated parts of the Alpha Creek lands as "good" for housing, identifying four potential nodes of development close to Highway 99, next to the wetlands.

The second site, the Prism property, is also located next to the wetlands to the north and rated "fair" in the housing study for potential development.

In a recent letter to the municipality, AWARE asked council to consider granting a PAN 1 designation over the whole area under the Protected Areas Network, effectively taking the lands out of any future discussions for resident housing.

Currently the municipality is working on the Protected Areas Network, which will preserve and protect special ecosystems in the valley. Horan said AWARE is leaning heavily on this strategy to get protection on the entire wetland complex, which totals more than 100 acres.

A PAN 1 designation would not allow any public or private developments on the land.

"What we’re asking for is completely inline with the Whistler Environmental Strategy," said Horan.

"You can’t talk the sustainability talk and still impact wetlands.

"Development and wetlands don’t go together."

Horan said AWARE has spent hours researching the potential impact any development next to the wetlands could have on the area.

Though the study calls for the development nodes to have the traditional 15 to 30 metres buffers from the wetland zone, AWARE said this is not enough.

The lands they say have the potential to provide critical valley bottom habitat and a green corridor for wildlife.

"There’s lots of things that we don’t know," admits Horan.

"We’ve always operated on a precautionary principle and what we’re saying is we simply don’t know what’s going to happen if we put something in there."

The housing report was presented to council at the beginning of April.

It highlighted private lands which could be considered for resident housing.

Each site was evaluated through a number of different criteria, among them transportation, location, proximity to work and services and school. There was also a rough environmental screen.

"The objectivity of the study is such that we asked the consultants to treat all sites with the same screen," said Tim Wake, general manager of the Whistler Housing Authority.

"And what is being suggested here (by AWARE) is that we use a different screen for Alpha Creek."

Mike Nelson, a principle of Cascade Environmental who worked on the housing study, said he whole-heartedly agrees with some of the points raised by AWARE.

"Most of the stuff in that AWARE letter quite frankly we agree with totally," he said.

"We agree that the wetlands should be preserved. There’s no question there at all."

The debate he said centres around the buffer zone.

The buffers in the housing report are based on current legislation, he said.

"AWARE have looked at further studies to say a wider buffer is needed to protect the wetland features, and that’s a matter of debate," said Nelson.

"And I think that sort of answer will come out when and if these properties come up for development."

Council has yet to publicly consider AWARE’s letter.

But Councillor Ken Melamed said he was grateful for AWARE’s position and would be ready to support it at the council table, even before the PAN study is complete.

"I’m prepared to vote tomorrow to protect it," he said.

"I don’t need to wait for a PAN study.

"Clearly it has to be one of the prime candidates for PAN protection, just on its history and the size of it and the fact that it’s valley bottom."

Protecting the Alpha Creek wetlands, along with the wetlands in the Emerald Forest, were high of his list of things to do when Melamed was first elected to council.

The Emerald Forest was protected in a complex land deal, which ultimately resulted in the municipality granting Intrawest 500 bed units, which have since become the Four Seasons hotel.

It was a difficult and lengthy deal from the outset but a majority of council was keen to protect the wetlands.

"I hope that council will see fit to pass some kind of resolution favouring the preservation of those sites and not support further consideration of the sites," said Melamed.

Councillor Marianne Wade, however, said the sites should remain on the table for consideration for the time being as a viable place for resident housing.

She added that housing on the south side of Whistler is smart growth planning because it would help support the existing infrastructure of the school and the fire hall in Spring Creek.

"We should examine that because it fits into infill housing, it supports smart growth, it supports sustainability," she said.

Wade added that the housing study is just the first set of environmental filters the site has gone through and it would be subject to much more scrutiny if a development proposal came forward.