A surf park and mixed-use development proposed for South Britannia Beach near Squamish is headed back to its proponents to address several unanswered questions.
On June 28, the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District’s (SLRD) board of directors considered second reading of a rezoning application for the Tiger Bay South Britannia development, a large-scale community planned for an area along Howe Sound, about 14 kilometres south of Squamish.
Creating a community at South Britannia has been in the works for more than a decade, with the latest iteration coming to the board a year and a half after a rezoning for the revised project received first reading in Dec. 2021.
Following first reading, the proponents received input from Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation), the District of Squamish (DOS), the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, BC Transit, School District No. 48, and Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH).
According to planning consultant Eric Vance, the year-plus delay was due mainly to issues raised by VCH around the availability and quality of water at the site. Following the input from VCH, Tiger Bay and the SLRD's engineering consultants conducted further analysis of the water situation, which revealed that, while there is enough water supply at the site, there is a risk of saltwater intrusion.
“There's the possible risk, very low they think, of occasional saltwater intrusion,” Vance said in a presentation to the board. “They don't think it will happen, but if it does, it can be addressed through a fairly simple reverse osmosis system, [though that] probably won't be needed.”
The developers plan to create a local service area within the SLRD to fund and maintain the water system, and are committed to an extensive water monitoring program to ensure the community is at the forefront of water sustainability and climate change resilience.
What will the development look like?
The planned development will include a maximum of 1,050 housing units, of which a minimum of 150 units (14 per cent) will be reserved for affordable housing. The majority of the homes will be in low-rise apartments and duplexes.
In addition to the surf park (the first of its kind in B.C.), there will be 1,800 square metres of commercial area, 190 units of tourism accommodation and a child-care centre with at least 78 spaces with room to expand for growing families.
The developers plan to construct multi-use paths throughout the development, including connections to North Britannia Beach, a skate park, and at least 28.5 acres of green space, 12.7 acres of which will be an oceanfront park at Minaty Bay.
Construction is planned in four phases, starting with essential utility infrastructure, such as connections to the North Britannia sewer plant, then building the surf park and some commercial buildings.
Following the completion of utility work and the surf park, the second phase will require the regional district's adoption of a housing agreement bylaw. If all goes well with CN Rail, the third phase will include the construction of a pedestrian overpass over the railway to the waterfront park. After residents move into the development, the fourth and final phase includes building the community centre.
SLRD board members raised several concerns about the proposed project, including the timing of the construction phases and the housing agreement; financial contributions for transit; the aforementioned water issues; and safe access to Minaty Bay Park.
Squamish Mayor Armand Hurford raised concern about creating the waterfront park before the planned railway overpass is complete.
Vance said CN Rail wouldn’t provide any input on the planned overpass, citing capacity challenges to review the current proposal. Still, it is open to discussing it in more detail after the SLRD approves the development.
Housing still a main concern
Housing and the forms it might take remains one of the main pieces of concern for SLRD directors.
Pemberton Mayor Mike Richman said that discussions around creating a housing agreement with the proponent should begin earlier than the second development phase, so the SLRD can secure affordable housing.
“I know that there's no housing being built in Phase 1. For me, it's more about securing what the board is looking for within the housing agreement before we get too far down the road,” Richman said.
“I know we don't need to have an agreement in place for [housing] being constructed in Phase 1, but being that it is a priority of the board to supply affordable housing under certain terms, I would like to be having those conversations sooner than later. I don't think we need to wait too long.”
Vance stated that the developers set the housing agreements' timing in Phase 2 to work around the community's evolving needs as the surf park and commercial services come online, and employee demands become clearer. Tiger Bay estimates that the development will create about 600 full-time permanent jobs once complete.
Vance also noted funding programs for affordable housing are constantly changing, and housing organizations like BC Housing cannot make commitments with construction still so far away.
The number of housing agreements also needs to be worked out, as all 150 units could be part of a single housing agreement or, as the board has previously discussed, can be more dispersed.
The DOS also raised concerns, particularly on the proposed housing forms in the development, and advised the SLRD to secure a minimum percentage of two and three-bedroom apartment and townhouse units as affordable housing in addition to a minimum number of units to ensure the provision of larger affordable units.
Squamish also recommended the SLRD secure a commitment from the developer to create workforce rental housing for the construction workers who will build the community.
Vance speculated that the developers could obtain temporary use permits to set up trailers on the site, which would help address some of the employee construction challenges, but said they need more information on worker needs before that happens.
"We just don't know until we get to that point and know who the companies are constructing this, where they're drawing workers from, how they see them being accommodated," Vance said. "But certainly, the site is big enough that if there's some need for some temporary workforce housing down there, it could be accommodated."
Squamish Nation concerns; transit considerations
Squamish Nation's preliminary recommendations include having proper place names and signage that respects the Nation's culture and history throughout the development, as well as a commitment to sustainability.
The Nation wants to see substantial setbacks for shoreline developments, buffers of at least 30 metres established from fish-bearing streams, and building construction to net-zero carbon emissions standards.
The commitment to sustainability must include post-construction impact studies and monitoring for at least 10 years, with the requirement to mitigate identified environmental degradation and impacts on wildlife and water quality.
Hurford raised questions about the developers contributing funding for transit, and indicated a desire to see a mechanism put in place to establish a local service area for funding future transit services in the rezoning process.
The proposal did not include direct funding or community amenity contributions for local or regional transit. However, Tiger Bay is committed to building a $950,000 transit hub in Phase 2 that can serve as a stop for local and regional buses.
According to the report to the SLRD board, Tiger Bay has been in talks with the Squamish Connector shuttle service to offer transportation options for residents who work off-site and to transport individuals to the surf park.
‘Every month we delay increases the cost…’
Instead of approving second reading of the rezoning application, which would send it to a public hearing, SLRD Area B Director Vivian Birch-Jones put forward a motion to delay consideration of second reading until a future board meeting, with a request for further information from the developers on some of the project's details.
The areas on which the board desired more information included: phasing; quantity and form of housing options for workforce accommodation during early phases; transit provisions; the reserve osmosis water system; and options to mitigate the risk of overpass timing.
Area D Director Tony Rainbow, Lillooet Mayor Laurie Hopfl, Area C Director Russell Mack and Area A Director Sal DeMare opposed the motion.
Rainbow, who represents the proposed development area, cited the need to move faster on delivering housing as a reason for his opposition to further delays, as increased waits result in elevated costs for construction.
“Every month we delay increases the cost of the affordable housing, no question about that,” Rainbow said. "When I look at what happened with Britannia [North redevelopment], it was a bureaucratic boondoggle; it was mostly the province, though we did contribute to it.
The original proposed price for Britannia North townhomes was in the $750,000 range, and now they are selling for more than $1.1 million, Rainbow noted.
“If we could have found a way of getting that project online a little sooner than that, housing would have been cheaper or less expensive,” he said.
Richman said his desire to get more answers from the developers is not about delaying the project, but getting it right.
“This is not about blocking it. It's not about slowing it down. We need housing," Richman said.
"I look forward to seeing this development come to fruition, but I want to get it right for the community, and for my own pride, I want to get it right. So that's what's motivating me to flush some of these things out in advance."
