Skip to content
Join our Newsletter

Zoning matters when it comes to asphalt

It might be nerve-wracking for Whistler residents to read the recent media coverage about Frank Silveri's affidavit submitted for the upcoming asphalt plant court case. At first glance, it sounds like Mr.

It might be nerve-wracking for Whistler residents to read the recent media coverage about Frank Silveri's affidavit submitted for the upcoming asphalt plant court case. At first glance, it sounds like Mr. Silveri is pretty confident in his right to operate his asphalt plant at the current site and his affidavit appears packed with "evidence." But when you take a closer look at the information included in his affidavit (and more importantly, the information that is not included), it's increasingly clear to me that Silveri's case doesn't have much of a leg to stand on.

With all the twists, turns and cloak and dagger conspiracy drama in this asphalt plant saga, it's easy to lose sight of the main issue at hand. The key question of this upcoming court case is quite simple: does the RMOW zoning bylaw IP1 permit asphalt manufacturing or not? I've read the bylaw about a hundred times and while I'm no legal eagle it really doesn't seem that complicated. For those of you who haven't read it, here's what the IP1 bylaw says:

Intent - The intent of this zone is to provide for the manufacture and processing of gravel and aggregate in a manner that does not detract from the natural environment or the livability of the Resort Municipality of Whistler...

Permitted Uses - 3.1 The following uses are permitted and all others are prohibited: a) manufacturing and processing of gravel and aggregate; and b) storage of industrial machinery, equipment and supplies related to the manufacturing and processing of gravel and aggregate.

The words "asphalt plant" or "asphalt manufacturing" or anything at all to do with asphalt do not appear in this bylaw. Interestingly, Mr. Silveri did not include a copy of the actual zoning bylaw in his affidavit.

Bill Barratt, former RMOW CAO, is famously quoted last summer as saying they had an opinion that stated, "If the Resort Municipality wants to be certain that asphalt plant processing is not permitted in the proposed zone, it should expressly exclude asphalt processing from the list of permitted uses in the zone."

I have read a few other zoning bylaws for residential areas, the village pedestrian core and the small commercial areas around town, and nowhere have I found any mention of asphalt processing specifically being a prohibited use. A simple extension of Mr. Barratt's backwards logic would lead to the conclusion that anything is a permitted use anywhere in Whistler unless it is specifically excluded in the relevant zoning bylaw. So go ahead; open your strip club in Alpine Meadows, crack open that casino in Emerald and let's top it off with a large-scale cattle slaughterhouse in Blueberry Hill.

It's clear that as far back as May 1998 the RMOW, the Advisory Planning Committee and Sabre (Silveri's landlord) all considered the asphalt plant an illegal use. Dated May 28, 1998, an internal memo from the RMOW planning department to the APC states, "The IP1 zoning permits the manufacturing and processing of gravel and aggregates and the storage of related equipment. Ready-mix concrete production, nor asphalt production is currently a permitted use in this zone."

Their actions at the time - the failed rezoning attempt in 1998 and the planning department's request that the bylaw department monitor the operations at the site - stem from the view that the asphalt plant was an illegal use and not permitted within the zoning bylaw. Mr. Silveri did not include any of these documents or correspondence in his affidavit.

It all comes down to this: asphalt plants are not permitted in IP1. I can hardly wait until the court confirms this, kicks the asphalt plant out of our neighbourhood and we can get on with enjoying an awesome life in our community - playing outside and breathing the fresh air, windows wide open.

Tim Koshul

Whistler

 

An alternative to pay parking

 

After reading for months about the debate surrounding pay parking, there seems a simple answer to the issue. As published in last week's Letters to the Editor section, there seems to be four choices; increase the costs, keep as is, reduce to a reasonable amount or scrap it altogether. In reality, everyone agrees that the maintenance and cost of the lots must come from somewhere and as discussed on many occasions, in such difficult and unpredictable economic times, asking guests/visitors to pull more money out of their pockets, it can all seem a bit too much, especially when we are competing with so many other destinations for the same dollar.

So how about a parking fee/tax that is incorporated into the cost of each season pass, lift ticket, etc.? If you average each ski pass at $1,200, for example, a two per cent parking fee/tax would be an extra $24 per pass. Now add day summer season passes, day lift passes, sightseeing passes and so on, and the fees to cover the cost of maintenance on the lots could be covered - or there could be a surplus that may be put into new projects or upgrades that would hopefully reduce the property tax pressure put on local homeowners.

But best of all, visitors don't feel that when you enter Whistler that it's all pay, pay, pay. You don't physically pull out two dollars each time you see the garbage trucks drive by, it's all covered by your taxes. And how many people will question a $1.84 parking fee on a $92 day ticket? And I can't imagine too many people would argue that a seasonal $24 parking fee that allows them a full season of parking is bad value for money.

Jarred Both

Whistler

 

Making Crankworx work

 

To say this past week's Kokanee Crankworx was a huge success would be an understatement. The vibrancy in the village reached new heights on Saturday, July 23 during Red Bull Joyride. Whistler was at its finest and 25,000-plus spectators were treated with the calibre of sport and excitement only the community of Whistler is capable of producing.

The success of such an incredible ten-day-long festival is not possible without a crew of tireless staff, volunteers, sponsors, spectators and the support of the community. On behalf of Whistler Blackcomb I would like to thank everyone who pitched in to help make Kokanee Crankworx 2011 such a resounding success.

Thank you and congratulations to all of the athletes for their continued support and Brandon Semenuk in particular, you made your home town Whistler incredibly proud. Darren Kinnaird and the Crankworx team, working closely with local production talent and the Whistler Blackcomb events team, pulled off seamless event after seamless event, combining into a truly memorable festival. The RMOW's support, from music in Olympic Plaza, to the use of the village and parking lots for sponsor activation. A HUGE thank you to all of the sponsors, in particular, Kokanee and Red Bull who stepped up to the plate in a big way helping to continually push the limits and prove innovation is born here, and very important, drive traffic into Whistler benefitting everyone. And to the visionary behind it all, Rob McSkimming; thank you for setting the path, growing Kokanee Crankworx to arguably the No. 1 event of its kind in the world. See you on the trails.

Dave Brownlie

President, Whistler Blackcomb

 

Watching the bottom line

 

Recent news reports have left me increasingly concerned about how our municipality is being managed. In the past year we have witnessed the mishandling of the Alpine Paving, pay parking and Rainbow lawsuit files, to name a few. However, the situation that concerns me the most is the way in which municipal employee compensation costs are being handled. Salaries and benefits are a major component of the municipality's annual budget. Thus it is critical that the administration of these costs be managed responsibly.

Over the past several years, salaries have increased by three to four per cent a year over and above the rate of inflation without any concurrent improvements in productivity. This has resulted in municipal salaries being much higher than equivalent salaries in the private sector and the need for yearly tax increases. This program cannot continue as is or we will end up with everybody in the municipality making more than $75,000 a year and crippling property taxes for homeowners; hardly an equitable situation.

In the coming years pension costs will become a bigger and bigger issue as the number of retirees grow. How much these costs increase by will be a function of salary levels, employee numbers and current unfunded liabilities. This is another imperative for getting compensation costs under control as we approach build out with little opportunity to increase our tax base.

How do we deal with the above? The new council and CAO have to explore all possibilities for reigning in these costs so that future tax increases will not exceed the rate of inflation. This would include a freeze on salaries and hiring until a new salary administration program can be put in place. Contracting out services to the private sector and phasing out departments not providing core services also needs to be explored.

Allan Jenner

Whistler

 

Those crashes add up

 

I woke up on Sunday morning after another crazy week of Crankworx, treating numerous ugly, nasty and some truly horrible injuries, thinking, "my goodness, nobody died!"

I think the major factor to the zero fatality rate is the staff of the Whistler Health Care Centre's emergency department that I have been lucky enough to work with over the last 20 years. Without the care and skill of these people the suffering would have been much greater.

Not to be forgotten are the Whistler Mountain Bike Patrol and the BC Ambulance paramedics. These skilled, dedicated workers somehow manage to scrape what is left of the poor souls from the bike park and get them into the clinic alive and with a pulse (although not always conscious or breathing). I think the Whistler community owes a big round of applause and appreciation to this great team!

A note of advice to bike park enthusiasts: armour every inch of your body twice, slow down, try taking some "small air" and enjoy the ride. The life or limb you save will be your own.

Also I would note that through the whole out-of-control week I never saw one injury from the great game of golf!

Dr. Ron Stanley

Ex-Chief of Staff

Whistler Health Care Centre

 

Right on, right brain

 

We have stayed in Whistler for a week in each of the past six years, and I always enjoy reading the two issues of Pique I manage to pick up. The information you present is interesting, balanced and entertaining. Normally I avoid newspapers and magazines, as I like to keep my mind clear of valueless negative information, but Pique I look forward to.

A year or so ago you ran an article on the value of beavers, which was informative and had a hopeful tone. You did it again this year with the amphibians article. I enjoy G.D. Maxwell's out of the box viewpoints and your summary of the U.S. mountain resort news. I particularly want to compliment Feet Banks on his story of a day in the Gili Islands. No ordinary trite travel piece, this. Besides being well crafted, he has captured the essence of right brain living: "Time is meaningless, space is everywhere". This is the state of mind many of us strive for, without knowing that we seek it or how to trigger it.

It is essentially the right brain interfacing with the world after the left brain has been turned off. Nature is one of the surest ways of getting there, if you are doing simple activities and have removed intellectual stimulation. I only recently became consciously aware of this, while working through "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain." This book is a drawing course, and the author provides exercises designed to turn off the left brain so you can use the right brain to see like an artist.

This is far from my normal life, but it intrigued me and was a mind opener. What Feet Banks describes is an ideal right brain state. You can recreate it anywhere, once you are consciously aware of what you are doing. Try it floating down the River of Golden Dreams on a warm day. Stop along the way. Sit on the bank and listen, free of the bustle of the village. For a moment Feet took me there. Thanks for another enjoyable read.

Rolf Stengl

Calgary

 

What's wrong with idealism?

 

This is in response to Jesse Ferreras's column regarding the so-called "Generation Y" and their apparent grandiose, ideological expectations. I don't normally respond to articles that "pique" my interest but Ferreras's poor argument prompted my response.

Ferreras's equivocation of a generation's wants and expectations to a journalist's decision to quit his high-profile job compelled me to read Kai Nagata's blog for myself.

Ferreras has mistakenly concluded, or simplified for the purpose of his argument, that Nagata's rant is focused on the commercial needs of networks; however, it is more a commentary on our current state as a nation. Political agendas, ideologies and religion can act to stifle critical thought, science and compassion. Network media does not transcend that strife and rather than report it, it is often caught in the middle. Nagata's decision to quit is his assertion that his ideals and beliefs are more important than monetary success and the narcissism that often accompanies it.

Ferreras states, "Kai leaving his job for the reasons he listed is like being handed a Ferrari and complaining about its colour." This statement calls to attention Ferreras's failure to understand Nagata's blog. I even question whether or not Ferreras read Nagata's entire post, as Nagata blatantly wrote: "I can't go back to working parallel to the real problems, hiding my opinions and yet somehow hoping that one viewer every night might piece together what I wanted to say." I don't see arrogance in Nagata's ideals; I see bitter resentment in Ferreras's column.

Tori Harker

Whistler

 

Smart meters are kind of dumb

 

Provincial Health Officer Dr. Perry Kendall is doing a grave disservice by minimizing the importance of the classification of this microwave radiation as a 2b carcinogen (see "BC Hydro allows relocation of smart meters, July 21). The World Health Organization panel reviewed hundreds of studies and concluded that there is a real possibility that prolonged exposure to this type of radiation can cause cancer.

Dr. Kendall fails to advise that there are thousands of studies showing that this radiation also has been shown to cause DNA damage, blood brain barrier damage and other health effects. And homes will be receiving this 24/7, not just from one meter but from their neigbhours' meter as well.

Health is only one problem, privacy is another major one. These meters gather personal usage patterns and can tell when you are home, when you are sleeping, when you are using a hair dryer, you name it, and can give this information to anyone without your knowledge or permission. It's an illegal invasion of privacy. No cost or energy savings result, as Ontario's premier admitted. Moving the meter away from your home will not prevent these problems. Only you can. Refuse wireless smart meters and demand that information be used only for billing purposes.

Sharon Noble

Victoria

 

Food for thought

 

Thank you for your piece on the food banks and their challenges. There are a couple of aspects of the Whistler Food Bank usage that it might be important for people to know.

From April 1, 2011 numbers at the Whistler Food Bank are already at 75 per cent of last year (2,159 visits) and WCSS has been contacted by Food Bank Canada to see if we can determine why numbers have risen so steeply over the last year.

As Whistler still "right-sizes" itself after the 2010 Games it has been suggested that housing is easier to find, but individuals then struggle to find employment.

1. According to our records, the concept that people use the food bank so they can buy expensive toys is a bit of a myth. Our records show that most clients only use the food bank between one to five times over 12 months. The more regular users are also working with our Outreach Team on other concerns as well and certainly are not out buying expensive toys - rather trying to find work, pay their rent or mortgage and feed themselves or their families!

We have an Outreach Worker present to speak with every food bank user to determine why the food bank is needed and whether or not there are other WCSS programs that could aid that person. While there may be an occasional abuse of the food bank, a meeting with our Outreach Team usually discourages this type of behaviour. The mandate of the food bank is "Food in Bellies", but our Outreach team is trained to assess and offer other resources to those in need.

2.  68 per cent of food bank users report themselves as un-employed or 'under-employed' individuals. 66 per cent have lived in Whistler from three months to one year.  34 per cent have been in Whistler over one year and of these many have lived in Whistler for over 10 years.  67 per cent of food bank users are between the ages of 20-29. 16 per cent are between the ages of 30-50.

Ironically, people now can find accommodation quite easily, but living wage jobs are not full time and not that common. Younger people coming to the resort are more likely to need to access the food bank if they arrive, find a place to live but then cannot find work.

3. The Centre for Sustainability research on Resident Affordability reported in our recent meeting that a living wage for Whistler is $14.16 an hour and indicators show that "A higher proportion of individual/single seasonal residents (85 per cent) report incomes that fall below basic living costs, compared to other demographic groups in Whistler."

Especially in "shoulder season" individuals suffer greatly from what we would call "under-employment."  The resort is slow; they are still working but shifts have been cut and there is not enough money to pay rent and also food. Many businesses do not offer wages as high as $14 an hour.

4.  In that same meeting, Training Innovations reported that in the past year they have seen about 3,449 people looking for work and that wages of jobs that are available are on the low end and do not appear to be rising.  In this meeting WCSS expressed our feeling that one strategy would be to encourage employers to consider hiring less staff to work more hours, and not recruit from outside Whistler until they had filled as many positions as possible with individuals already living in the resort.

As the resort "right-sizes" itself after the 2010 Olympics, we would also encourage individuals moving here to come with enough money to last two to three months. This message must go out to those looking to arrive in Whistler looking for work.  Even better advice would be to obtain a job prior to moving full time to Whistler.  The message now is not that housing is scarce, but that jobs are scarce.

There are a number of factors affecting the issue of hunger in Whistler. While there may be an occasional "bad egg" in the mix who is abusing the food bank, more often we see residents who are using it because they are going through a short bad patch, with reduced or lost income.

WCSS is currently working with an amazing group of community members including Mayor Melamed (RMOW) Joel Chevalier and Nicole Desjardins (Whistler Blackcomb) Naomi Devine (Centre for Sustainability), Fiona Famulak (Whistler Chamber of Commerce), Tara Mollet of Training Innovations, Sara Jennings, (Food Bank Coordinator), Claire Mozes (Program Manager) and myself to begin looking at strategies to offset this heavy usage. We are hopeful that by coming together we can find some solutions and make Whistler a better place to live for our more vulnerable workers. Thank you to each and every community member, business and individual that donates to food drives and the program. We couldn't do it without you!

Lorna Van Straaten

Executive Director,

Whistler Community Services Society

 

Coming through for food bank

 

As I was biking around, picking up food bank donations from participating businesses for the Whistler Community Services Society (WCSS) Foodworx Business Challenge, I was reminded of the generosity of Whistler residents.

WCSS would like to recognize the workplaces that participated this year, The Whistler Question, Whistler Real Estate, the RCMP, the RMOW, Fairmont Chateau, Pan Pacific, Hilton, Delta, Nicklaus North Golf Course, Meadow Park Sports Centre, Lululemon and Showcase. WCSS is pleased to announce that Delta Whistler Village Suites won the contest, and have been crowned Foodworx Business Champion 2011.  This includes winning a prize for some of their staff provided by The Adventure Group.

While the Foodworx Business Challenge was a huge success another fundraiser was running simultaneously to raise money and food donations. WCSS had a booth set up at Crankworx for four days and raffled off different prizes each day, with all the funds going to the food bank.

We would like to thank the following businesses who provided many great prizes that were raffled off at the Foodworx booth: Twisted By Choice, Ziptrek, Garbanzo Bike and Bean Co., Peak Performance, Sushi Village, Summit, Fanatyk Co., Bike Co., and The Adventure Group.  WCSS recognizes that running the Foodworx tent was only possible due to the dedicated, engaging crew that worked at the tent - Sui Young, Pru Moore, Sarah Walters, Margaret Forbes and Family, Natalie Biederman, Brad Monteith, Annie Turgeon, Avery Newman, Taylor Mitchell, Amanda Rousseau, Jessica Averiss, Doug Beard, Hayley Ingman, Sarah Colpitts and Debbie Gough (face painting). And thanks to Marlin Beswetherick for designing and painting a banner for us.

A special thanks as well to Caroline Stroud, Megan Hewitt and the Youth Center for helping us with storage, and Nicole Desjardins and Whistler Blackcomb for providing the tent and table. Finally, a huge thank you to Darren and Louise and the team at Kokanee Crankworx who donated the space for our Foodworx tent and for supporting us each year.

A total of 600 pounds of food and $2,108 was raised by both the Foodworx tent and the business challenge which will help stock the WCSS Food Bank shelves for the next month.

We also had a successful fundraiser on Canada Day flipping pancakes where we made $847 and served hundreds of hungry people.  We would like to thank all the wonderful volunteers we had for that event: Brent, Dan, Cindy, Doug and Etka from the Four Seasons; Emino, MinHo, Yumiko, Po and Fernanda from Tamwood College; as well as Chris Quinlan and Kris Schoup. Whistler Blackcomb provided the grill, the RMOW provided the tables, McDonald's provided us with some juice and the Four Seasons provided several additional supplies.

Sara Jennings

Whistler Community Services Society

Food Bank Coordinator

 

Big thanks to all

 

To all that helped make this the best Kokanee Crankworx ever -thank you!

To the record number of Volunteers (249) who came out each and every day, rain or shine, to help deliver this world class event.

To Sebastien Fremont, Wendy Robinson, Colleen Ikona, Jimmi McIntosh, Tim Parrett and the Sport Operations and Branding crews - thank you for your tireless efforts, in particular around the Kona Canadian Open Enduro

To Janet Hutzul for her organization, overall assistance and in assembling and directing a world class event office.

To Mark Taylor, TJ Walker, Scott McPhee, Alex Dorr, Derek Westerlund and the live production teams that put on a show the likes Whistler has rarely seen.

To Nathalie Grether and the athlete relations team for making our world class competitors feel welcomed and well received.

To Michelle Leroux - our Social Media and PR Guru - and the WB PR team who, along with a small team of volunteers, not only delivered an amazing Deep Summer show but also worked tirelessly to deliver an incredible online Kokanee Crankworx and Red Bull Joyride marketing campaign.

To Louise Hatton, Tom Graham and the village expo crew, including the cleaners and volunteers that made life easy for our expo, demo and race team exhibitors.

To Erin Stephens, Justin Hartwell, Alan Golds, and Kassia O'Connor who make up her client service team - thank you for exceeding our sponsorship partners expectations by going above and beyond and to Lesley Tomlinson and Drew Carrol for bringing us such wonderful partners to work with.

To Susan Butler for delivering a completely new branding concept, amazing online media, new merchandise and collaborating with the uber-talented Lisa Richardson on the most successful Kokanee Crankworx Program Guide ever.

To Randy Clegg and the most extensive Kokanee Crankworx marketing program to date.

To Kristen Robinson, Paul Runnels and the rest of the team at Brand Live - for showing us the potential and future of Whistler Olympic Plaza as a sport/music venue for future Kokanee Crankworx.

To Sue Doi for keeping things on the right track and providing amazing guidance.

To Peter Jean, Kira Cailes, Brian Finestone, Doug Macfarlane, Miriam Macdonald, George Weston-Webb, Mark Beaton, Kim Myers, Mark "Foz" Foster and John Teitzel and all of the crews from WMBP Safety, Patrol, Trail Crew, Operations, Guest Services, WB Retail, WB IT, WB Electrical and WB Finance for supporting Kokanee Crankworx behind the scenes and keeping our guests safe and happy.

To Bea Searle for organizing our accommodation program and to all of the hotels that housed our athletes, production crews and VIP's. The Aava Hotel, Pan Pacific, Westin, Hilton, Crystal Lodge, Coast Hotel, Summit Lodge, the Delta, The Listel Hotel, the Adara, the Tantalus Lodge, Whistler Village Inn and Suites, Resort Quest, The Pinnacle, the Mountainside Lodge, the Holiday Inn and the Evolution.

To Paddy Kaye and Joyride Bike Parks for delivering the rider's vision in the Red Bull Joyride Course and Adam Billinghurst with Earth Odyssey on creating a work of art in the pumptrack.

To our sponsors and partners - Kokanee, Red Bull, SRAM, Kona, Telus, Dose.ca , Rock Shox, Clif Bar, Giant Bicycles, Teva, the Cheese Rolling Festival, Pinkbike.com , Nintendo, Evoc, Maxxis, Mike's Hard Lemonade, Sombrio, GoPro, Goal Zero. Without your support this festival just doesn't happen.

To Erin Kincaid and the Bearfoot Bistro for their efforts in helping us deliver the amazing and first ever Kokanee Zone at Kokanee Crankworx, along with incredible hospitality at the Bearfoot Bistro.

To Bob Andrea, Christa Vandeberg, John Rae and all of the folks at the RMOW. Your insights and assistance are an integral part of what Kokanee Crankworx is, and what it will be in years to come.

To Lynn Chappell and Kerry Duff at Tourism Whistler for their guidance and support with inbound media.

To Darren O'Leary from Matakana Scaffolding. Thank you for tolerating us!

To Brandon Semenuk, Cam Zink, Anthony Messere, Benny Phillips, Jill Kintner, Mitch Ropelato, Brian Lopes, Stevie Smith, Anne Caro Chausson and all of our pro and amateur athletes for your feats of athleticism and for putting on one heck of a show!

To Jeremy Roche for handing over the reins of an extremely well developed property and finely tuned machine in Kokanee Crankworx.

To the tolerating loved ones who put up with us for the past few weeks: Tamar Milne, Natasha Fremont, Tristan Merrick, Paula Taylor, Davin Moore, Suki Cheyne, and all of the wives, girlfriends, boyfriends and husbands of or our team members.

To anyone I might have missed, your efforts are no less valuable to Kokanee Crankworx - just running on minimal sleep.

Lastly to Rob McSkimming for believing in us, trusting in us and letting us run with our vision for Kokanee Crankworx

Darren Kinnaird

Kokanee Crankworx General Manager