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Council disappointed with First Nations plans

By Alison Taylor Despite a unanimous vote against the First Nations’ golf course/residential application in the Callaghan Valley, Mayor Ken Melamed is not convinced the province will heed Whistler’s concerns.

By Alison Taylor

Despite a unanimous vote against the First Nations’ golf course/residential application in the Callaghan Valley, Mayor Ken Melamed is not convinced the province will heed Whistler’s concerns.

Local MLA Joan McIntyre said that they are listening to Whistler but that doesn’t mean the province agrees with the resort municipality’s view.

“I understand Whistler’s concern that (the application) may not be compatible with their growth strategy, but on the other hand this is also a time and an opportunity for First Nations to get economic development in the corridor and I know that First Nations have concerns that municipalities (in the corridor) are frustrating their efforts,” said McIntyre.

“The province is saying… we want First Nations to have opportunity for economic development and capacity building. We are saying that loud and clear through our new relationship and I generally support that…. This is not lip service.”

Council considered the application at Monday’s meeting after a request for comment from the provincial Integrated Land Management Bureau in mid-December.

Its feedback was clear — building a residential development beside a golf course in the Callaghan Valley is not consistent with the resort municipality’s growth strategies or its vision in the Whistler2020 plan.

“It is a little disappointing that this application has been made by the First Nations,” said Councillor Nancy Wilhelm-Morden, adding that she had hoped their relationship with neighbouring First Nations was a little stronger.

Her colleague, Councillor Gordon McKeever, echoed that disappointment.

“We rejected (the Callaghan) as an opportunity for resident housing,” he said. “The thought of creating a significant market housing subdivision… is something I can’t support.”

Councillor Eckhard Zeidler, who has been active in wilderness conservation initiatives in the areas surrounding Whistler, removed himself from the discussion due to a conflict of interest.

The remaining councillors were relatively quiet on the issue.

When asked after the meeting if he believes the province will go ahead with the development without Whistler’s backing, Mayor Melamed said: “I think they would. They ask for our input but they don’t always act upon it.”

The 12-page joint application by Squamish and Lil’wat Nations details an 18-hole golf course but there is scant information on the residential component of the project.

The official application on the ILMB website shows just two maps. There is no reference on the maps to a residential component.

Bob MacPherson, the municipality’s general manager of community life, explained that though the application deals primarily with the golf course, there is an attempt to do a comprehensive development.

The golf course would lie on 150 acres of leased Crown land (with the option to purchase after 30 years). Just beside the golf course is an approximately 100 to 150 acre swath of land which is to be transferred to the First Nations as part of their 300 acre legacy lands from the 2010 Games negotiations. The residential component would be built on this fee simple legacy land. Several other sites within the municipality’s boundaries are slated to make up the remaining legacy lands.

MacPherson said presumably the sale of the residential units would generate revenue that could be used to finance the golf course. In other words, the two components of the development go hand in hand.

But it’s the prospect of residential development in the Callaghan that has council concerned.

“If First Nations wants to continue to pursue this and make their case before council, then they can still do that,” said Melamed.

“I think council’s pretty much sent a message ‘maybe you shouldn’t be wasting your time on the residential component. You might want to pursue the golf course but you’d be wasting your time with a residential application.’”

Whistler’s opposition however, may be moot.

The Crown land slated for the golf course development is zoned Rural Resource 1. A golf course is a permitted use under that zoning. The application may never come back before council for approval. Council directed staff to investigate and clarify this point.

The residential development, on the other hand, would require a rezoning at municipal hall. But the buck doesn’t stop there.

There is always the threat for any local government that the province can use Bill 75, the Significant Projects Streamlining Act, and nullify any municipal decision — if the project is considered important enough to the province.

McIntyre said it will take leadership to get the parties together and talking in a respectful manner. And not everyone is going to be happy with the outcome.

“It’s unfortunate in the sense that at one stage there’s a group wanting no growth at a time when First Nations are looking for economic opportunity and development,” she said. “That’s the nub of all of this.”

“What I’m looking for is dialogue on these issues and ways of sharing the resource. We have to figure out how to do this going forward. There are so many challenges and conflicts on the land that we have to find respectful ways of sorting out these issues.”

The Integrated Land Management Bureau is considering comments on the application until Jan. 26.