After more than three decades of community debate and seven years of developer planning, Whistler’s Northlands site is moving one step closer to potential redevelopment.
On June 10, Whistler council voted to endorse staff’s recommendation to refer the proposed rezoning of 4500 Northlands Boulevard to community consultation this fall, including a public open house and online engagement. The move greenlit recommendations from a May 27 meeting where debate centred on the $38.6- to $47.1-million community amenity contribution (CAC) offered by Beedie Living in exchange for rezoning 4500 Northlands Boulevard to allow more than 300 new housing units.
“I’m just really excited to see the Northlands site back on the agenda here today,” said Matt Woods, a local contractor and owner of Coastal Mountain Excavations, during the public input period. “I think we’ve been talking about it in this community for 30 years—since Jesus was a boy.”
Woods, who employs approximately 150 people from various companies, said the housing shortage has drastically impacted his ability to retain workers locally. “Five years ago, 80 per cent of my staff lived in Whistler,” he told council.
Today, he said only 10 per cent live in the resort. “We pay for people to commute…This year amounted to half a million dollars for people to drive to Whistler—it’s gas, it’s vehicles, it’s emissions. It’s unsustainable.”
He praised the 70 proposed employee units as a crucial step in easing that pressure, alongside work by council to approve employee housing projects in Cheakamus. “I think six of my employees have bought [at Cheakamus]—it’s amazing, but we need more. And we need it fast,” Woods said.
The Northlands project has been in Beedie Living’s hands since 2018.
“Today marks a meaningful milestone in our application process,” said Nicholas Dhaliwal, speaking on behalf of Beedie Living. “We remain committed to transparent communication and to continuing the respectful, open dialogue we’ve established with staff and the Whistler community.”
Council's recent vote does not approve the rezoning outright but allows the developer to proceed to the next step of engagement—one that will see residents weigh in this fall before staff return with a final recommendation.
Dhaliwal emphasized Beedie Living’s desire to listen, not just inform, during that process. “We understand the responsibility that comes with proposing a new chapter in Whistler’s built environment,” he said.
Issues raised by staff during the May 27 meeting that will be up for community discussion this fall include how Beedie’s community amenity contribution (CAC) is spent and fears that Whistler will lose its only indoor tennis and pickleball facility, located on the future sight of Beedie’s development, for the foreseeable future.
While Beedie has offered a $10-million contribution toward off-site recreation amenities as part of the CAC package, that funding would be staggered over five phases, with most of it arriving in the later stages of construction. With estimated replacement costs ranging from $12.6 to $18.1 million, and no land currently allocated, the community could be left without indoor tennis for more than a decade unless additional funds are secured, or CAC priorities are shifted.
