Alta Lake Road housing proposal not in best interests of community

The Empire Club Development Corp. is wiggling carrots on sticks, so that its project [to build 15 new three-bedroom employee-housing-restricted townhomes and 22 three-bedroom market-tourist-accommodation townhomes on 5298 Alta Lake Rd.] might get the go-ahead.

One carrot offered is the restoration of the Hillman cabin (a.k.a. Toad Hall) to which I say, like Woodstock, some things are best left to what's left of our memories.

Another carrot ("Questions abound," Pique, Oct. 31) is "the dedication of a riparian and tree preservation area along the foreshore and rail line." There are already strict riparian rules on the other side of the lake, so this is not an unusual offering.

The biggest carrot being dangled is the proposal of a "future Whistler Housing Authority (WHA) employee-housing parcel adjacent to the existing Nita lake Resident Housing."

Sounds great, but will it come to pass, once the Empire Club has had its way with development? To sweeten the deal is the proposal for 15 employee-housing units, which sounds pretty good until you read further that eight of those are for the benefit of Empire staff.

Let's do the math: With seven units of actual "employee housing" being added to the Whistler Housing Authority (WHA) it's going to take a long time to reach Mayor Jack Crompton's target of 1,000 employee beds. One wonders how the eight units built for the benefit of the developers' staff can be allowed to jump the queue ahead of those applicants waiting patiently for years for WHA housing.

Garry Watson and G.D. Maxwell are major [supporters] of Cheakamus Crossing [for employee housing]. The land owned by the Resort Municipality of Whistler is readily available. The issue for both Cheakamus Crossing and 5298 Alta Lake Rd. is that of increased traffic. Let's face it. If you travel the south end of the valley, how much time have you spent in gridlock traffic at the end of the day?

When we look at the potential developments for resident-restricted units in both Cheakamus Crossing and Rainbow (both of which have much better public transit options than a development at 5298 Alta Lake Rd., and a better ratio for WHA units), and Rainbow, which has built-in infrastructure of [a grocery store], liquor store and coffee outlet, it makes the Nita Lake proposal seem a less beneficial location.

The Whistler Official Community Plan (OCP) is straightforward. Under 4.13.2, proposed OCP amendments or rezonings that increase the bed-unit capacity of the municipality will only be considered if the development: provides clear and substantial benefits to the community and the resort; is supported by the community, in the opinion of the council; and will not cause unacceptable impacts on the community, resort, or environment.

Ross Depner's original rezoning (2002) for the property at 5298 Alta Lake Rd. was for a much more intimate London Lodge (seven suites total), complete with 25 rustic cabins discretely arranged amongst the existing trees, and an artist-in-residence arrangement at the Hillman cabin. The current proposal is an extra 18,000 sq. ft.— a huge increase to the existing allowable footprint.

Cheryl Green (Letter to Editor, Pique, Oct. 24) stated clearly, that this project "is inconsistent in terms of density and visual impact with the neighbourhoods currently on the shores of Nita Lake." Her concern to preserve the trees of "this very sensitive lakeside area" is well taken. It would be a sad day for all concerned if, inadvertently, the trees were taken down, with apologies all around. Apologies can't grow old trees. (OCP 6.4.2: Mature stands of timber and riparian habitats must be protected.)

While private-developer projects might seem a welcome idea to the hard-working RMOW council as a means-to-an-end of how to accomplish housing, I think Mayor Crompton's intuition ("Council tackles housing projects," Pique, Sept. 17) is on track two-fold, that RZ1157, 5298 Alta Lake Rd. is not a "great location for tourist accommodation" and that there should be "more employee housing and less market housing." I also agree with G.D. Maxwell's notion ("Misguided proposal," Pique, Oct. 22) that one of the developers, however hard-working, may "seek to profit from opportunities they were involved in creating," as former chair of the WHA, and part of the Mayor's Task Force on Resident Housing.

I have been extremely lucky to share a family home next to Nita Lake since 1965, first in Alpine Village, then at Nita Ridge and for the past 30 years at Boulder Ridge. While change is part of life, I encourage the mayor and council to have the courage to represent the residents of Whistler by listening to the respected voices I've mentioned in this letter, who are speaking on behalf of valley residents who are desperate for suitable housing, and appropriate land use.

Here is a chance to question whether this project provides clear and substantial benefits to the community.