First Nations are poised to reap the benefits of developing land in Whistler.
Two sites have been identified for potential development for Squamish Nation and Lil’wat Nation as part of their 300-acre legacy lands awarded during 2010 Olympic negotiations.
The sites are both Crown land. One is in Alpine above the Rainbow lands, and is known as Alpine North. The other site is located opposite Alta Vista in an area known as the BCBC Lands or the Capilano/Mainroad Works Yard.
If all goes according to plan these two opportunities will allow First Nations to develop the land, sell it and then funnel the proceeds back into their communities.
"It’s an imperative that we need to develop," said Squamish Nation Chief Gibby Jacob. "Number one for revenue, number two to create… jobs, and (number three) once we start getting revenue on these… projects, to reinvest into other economic activities."
Like Whistler, Squamish and Lil’wat Nations were given 300 acres of Crown land between them as part of their legacies from the Olympics.
Whistler must use its 300 acres for resident housing. First Nations have no such restrictions and developing valuable land could yield tremendous economic benefits. Whistler is the logical choice for that development. It is shared First Nations territory and it should have the most return on their investment.
To this end, a unique partnership between Squamish Nation, Lil’wat Nation and the Resort Municipality of Whistler has been forged.
Though years in the making, this new partnership was formalized in a letter of intent signed on May 18 by the three stakeholders.
"(This) simplifies all the dealings that we have to go through in regards to our shared legacy lands and other issues because it sets out the guiding principles as to what we have to deal with," said Chief Leonard Andrew of Lil’wat First Nation. "So we don’t have to go back to square one every time we have an issue come forward."
The letter will lead to an official Memorandum of Understanding which will outline the parameters of how the First Nations and the resort will work together in the years to come.
"There’s no handbook on how to do this," said Mayor Hugh O’Reilly.
The difficulty he said is that First Nations have the right to develop on 300 acres of Crown land at the same time as Whistler is reaching its cap on development.
"That’s a little challenging for us because we weren’t part of that consultation (with the province and First Nations) and we have a plan that’s got a very limited amount of new growth," said O’Reilly. "But the unique thing about Whistler, and I remind everyone, is that in Whistler what’s great is that sometimes less is more. It’s not about having 300 acres. You may only need a small piece of that 300 but with the right opportunity it could be very beneficial to them as a community."
Inherent in moving forward with the partnership is the proviso that the three stakeholders will respect and abide by each community’s land use documents.
What that means, said Whistler’s Deputy Administrator Bill Barratt, is that all decisions will be filtered through Whistler 2020, the resort’s still-to-be-completed vision document, as well as the resort’s Official Community Plan.
"Everything that we do has to be within the context of Whistler 2020," said Barratt, emphasizing the importance of that document, which is still being created through the work of dozens of community stakeholders.
Any Crown land that is chosen will need to be rezoned, which forces a public open house and public hearing, giving council a chance to consider input from community members.
The land will also need bed units, the resort’s measuring tool for development. Bed units are becoming scarce as the resort reaches build out, or a development cap of 55,500 bed units.
Whistler is 89 per cent developed right now and most of the remaining bed units are tied to specific sites.
There are, however, some residual bed units or "floating" bed units in various hands, specifically 52 with the RMOW, 228 with Crown and 64 with Intrawest. These are not yet tied to sites.
Other, more recent opportunities to acquire bed units are also on the horizon as developers such as The Holborn Group and Cressey look to rezone their lands in Whistler without utilizing all the bed units on their sites. Those units will revert back to the municipality.
And a third option, said O’Reilly, is to increase the development cap if the community benefits from the development warrant it.
"The very last opportunity we’ve said is the community could actually increase the cap if it’s an appropriate use," said O’Reilly. "That is within the CSP (the Comprehensive Sustainability Plan now known as Whistler 2020). It’s not our desire to do that but if the benefit is significant enough we could do it."
It is not clear how many bed units First Nations will need and how they will get them on each site.
"All of that work is still to come," said Jacob. "We’re pretty hopeful that our relationship (with Whistler) that we’ve developed so far will see us be successful in that area."
The four-acre BCBC lands would likely be the first site developed.
When asked about a timeline, Jacob said simply, "as soon as possible."
Part of the money made on that deal will go to the capital costs for the First Nations Cultural Centre in the heart of the Whistler village. Land clearing is well underway on the $20 million centre which is set to open in 2006.
While they have enough money for construction, Jacob said they’re short about $2.5 million for exhibits, among other things.
"Our equity (from the land development) would be for the cultural experience and the exhibits," he said. "The construction dollars are pretty much taken care of."
The money leveraged from the development will also go towards community initiatives such as health and recreation programs. Andrew said the money would make up the shortfalls in funding from the government.
"There’s always been shortfalls as far as funding from the government and in our case from the federal government through the department of Indian Affairs," said Andrew.
The Alpine North site has also been picked by Whistler as part of its 300 acre land bank. As such, the three stakeholders would work together to develop that site, which would be accessed through the Rainbow lands, also slated for development in the near future.
And of course, First Nations and Whistler are working jointly on the opportunities which may come out of the athletes’ village in the Lower Cheakamus.
Jacob said they are looking throughout the corridor, in their shared territory and their stand-alone territory, for places to leverage their remaining land.
Included in that are commercial opportunities in Function Junction.
"Maybe we need to improve, expand Function Junction, well we can’t do it with our 300 acres but they can," said O’Reilly.
"They bring something to the table that’s very valuable."
Through it all he added the Whistler 2020 plan will be the roadmap to guide decisions.
The mayor’s personal vision is that Whistler, Squamish Nation and Lil’wat Nation will be three communities intertwined with common goals and concerns. For example, if tourism were a big part of the economic driver for First Nations then they would be just as concerned about skier visits, said O’Reilly, and in protecting and enhancing the Whistler product.
"I think the more that we can voluntarily step forward, build relationships, intertwine our communities, then the less likelihood there is to be conflict in the future," said the mayor.
"It’s a very long term (plan). I don’t think this is a generation or two. I think it’s going to take a long time to mend a lot of fences but I think by stepping up and doing this outside of a legal (treaty) process, I think it carries tremendous weight and sincerity that we’re really keen to try and find a way to correct some of the wrongs of the past."
The future is not yet clear but what is clear is that Whistler and its neighbouring First Nations have a unique partnership, which will continue to be fostered in the years to come as they work together.
"There’s a good understanding from all three sets of leadership on what it takes to develop a good relationship, to nurture it, to be successful at it," said Jacob. " It hasn’t been without our trials and tribulations but no relationship is. That’s a growing thing and from my perspective, once people see we’re not going to be a threat in the community, that we’re there to bring some added value, then it’s going to be so much better for everybody."
