Whistler’s mayor and council gave first two readings to a rezoning bylaw related to the Aava Hotel on June 15, while waiving a public hearing.
Council first endorsed the rezoning for the lands at 4005 Whistler Way on March 16.
The land currently holds the Aava hotel and an unused restaurant building, said planner Clancy Sloan in a presentation to council.
The proposed rezoning will allow an increase to the maximum permitted gross floor area to provide additional staff and operational amenities, and increases the site coverage to reflect the existing and proposed development, Sloan said.
“The proposed changes relate to the restaurant building only and do not impact the use and operation of the Aava hotel,” he said.
“The applicant proposes to increase the maximum gross floor area of the site by 379 square metres to provide additional amenities in the existing restaurant building.”
The added amenities relate to staff and operations, and include change rooms, showers, personal storage and communal staff areas.
An addition to the ground floor of the building is also proposed to enlarge the solid waste separation and storage area and provide a secure bike and ski storage area for staff, and a statutory right-of-way will enable public access from Whistler Way to the transit stop on Highway 99.
While waiving public hearings has not been a council practice in the past, it is permitted under the Local Government Act, and “because we have a new Official Community Plan with strong policies, this is something that we can do to help expedite applications and get applications through the process more quickly,” said planner Melissa Laidlaw, noting that the Resort Municipality of Whistler still needs to notify affected parties that the public hearing is being waived.
