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Final plea to save village forest

Petition against cutting down trees picks up almost 500 signatures

With less than a month to go before construction of the Celebration Plaza begins, Whistler residents are diligently collecting signatures to protest deforesting Lots 1 and 9 where the plaza will go.

The petition has collected at least 450 signatures since it began circulating March 16, though its grass root’s nature makes it hard to pin down exact figures, said organizer Heather Henderson.

She added that at least seven other volunteers are also gathering signatures that have not yet been included in the total figure.

Henderson decided to start the petition after learning that the trees located on Lot 1/9, between the Whistler Medical Centre and Brew House Pub, were earmarked be cut down to make room for an Olympic celebration plaza.

“I had been asking people around town what was going on with the trees, and no one seemed to know,” said Henderson, who sees the trees daily from her job with The Oracle.

“I decided to take some action and found out that they intended to clear the site and put up a celebration platform, and that is when I decided I wanted to start a petition.”

The petition was launched the same day that 80 people rallied together on the Lot 1/9 site to protest the municipality’s plans to cut the trees. Henderson plans to take the list of signatures to council April 7 to demonstrate the local concern.

The petition is available online at www.whistlerwatch.org and asks the municipality to move the “temporary” plaza to another location, open up discussion with the community on the issue and consider alternatives for the Lot 1/9 site development.

The petition also “demands that the RMOW (Resort Municipality of Whistler) be held accountable for the public’s input.”

Mayor Ken Melamed said he is not sure this campaign will change the scope of the project, since municipal staff has already gotten the green light to begin construction in April.

“What is going to occur, however… is there will be some refinement of the plans and perhaps some opportunities for members of the community to look at the clearing plan and see what trees can be saved and what has to be removed,” said the mayor.

“Essentially I think a course has been committed to and at this point it is only a question of how to respond to those people in the community who would like to see more trees saved on the lot.”

The contested area has long been eyed for development. After the 2010 Olympics were awarded to Vancouver and Whistler in 2003, plans were to build an arena to host the Paralympic sledge hockey on the site. But as costs for the rink climbed, the Vancouver Organizing Committee (VANOC) asked that the sledge hockey be moved to an existing rink in Vancouver. Discussions then began about developing a space for the Olympic medals presentations, for people to gather during and after the Olympics, and creating a lasting symbol of the Games.

Since the master plan for the Celebration Plaza was approved last November, however, many community members have been voicing their opposition.

An anonymous campaigner decorated the trees late last year with colourful ornaments with messages written on them, like “Save me I’m a Christmas Tree.”

And Whistler Watch, a local advocacy group, issued a challenge last week to the municipality to save half of the 800 trees on site.

Psychologist Stephen Milstein is among the group of local advocates who are volunteering their time to gather signatures for the petition.

“I have decided that I am going to help get signatures as well as I have assisted in putting in some ideas that I think could help resolve this,” said Milstein.

“My impression talking to people in the community is they are not happy at this point, and they feel that more consultation is required… I believe there needs to be discussion between the municipality and members of the community to see if we can find something that everyone thinks works for the community.”

Since getting on board with the campaign, Milstein said almost no one has refused to sign the form.

He added that several people have even asked to be included after overhearing him petitioning in the village.

“That is why I have gauged that there is a significant part of the community that is not happy at this point with where this is sitting,” said Milstein.

Henderson added she has also noticed, since working on this petition, that many community members feel powerless to speak out against decisions made at municipal hall.

“People feel like once council decides something, that is it,” she said.

“That is what these trees are really about, that is what these trees represent, is that people feel like they are not being heard. I have been hearing that so much since I started this.”

She added that giving people a chance to vote would make people feel more involved.

“Why are they (the municipality) making such huge changes without asking people what they really want? This is my home, and I don’t want things to get out of control,” said Henderson.

“I want to feel like I am a part of the community. I don’t want to feel like I am on the outside.”