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Campsite on Whistler’s boundaries moves ahead to public hearing

Despite opposition from Whistler, the regional district is in the process...

Despite opposition from Whistler, the regional district is in the process of approving a bylaw that will allow a campground on the municipality’s southern boundaries.

A private developer has put in an application to Lands and Water B.C. for a campground tenure on Crown land northwest of Brandywine Falls Provincial Park, located on the west side of Highway 99.

Under the bylaw the campsite has room for a maximum 50 tent spaces, along with 100 recreational vehicle spaces.

The RMOW does not support the application.

"It appears that the campground is here to capitalize on the success of Whistler," said Councillor Nick Davies, who served as Whistler’s Squamish-Lillooet Regional District director at Monday’s regional board meeting.

Davies explained Whistler’s opposition to the project.

He said Whistler already has the Riverside Campground and at present it’s failing to meet its economic expectations.

Riverside has a second phase expansion of the campground planned he said but because of the economic downturn they have yet to proceed with that development.

Once the Riverside is operating at capacity that would then indicate the need for more campgrounds in the area said Davies.

Other board members disagreed.

Squamish Director Corinne Lonsdale, who was sitting in for Mayor Ian Sutherland, said while she wasn’t familiar with the Riverside’s economic status, she was aware of the huge shortage of camping facilities for families in the Sea to Sky area.

Alice Lake campground is full all the time, she added.

"Everybody isn’t looking for a deluxe campsite (like the Riverside)," said Lonsdale.

Board Chair Susan Gimse pointed out that a campground facility is a permitted use on this piece of Crown land, according to its current zoning.

In addition, the regional district has asked for a report, prepared by a professional engineer, confirming the campground will not have any negative impacts on the water quality in the Brew Creek Community Watershed, prior to any development.

The board voted to move the project ahead to the next phase.

There will be a public hearing on the proposed campground on Wednesday, May 19 at the Sea to Sky Hotel in Squamish. The meeting will begin at 7 p.m.

Ashlu/Sigurd Creek IPPs to go to public hearing in May

Two independent power projects in Squamish have approval to go to the next stage in their development after Monday’s SLRD board meeting.

The board voted unanimously to allow the Ashlu and Sigurd Creek IPPs to go to a public hearing in mid-May.

Kelly Boychuk, project manager with Ledcor Power, gave a brief presentation at the board meeting, letting the members know that Ledcor had addressed the four areas of concern outlined previously by the board.

An agreement with the Squamish Nation was reached in March he said, providing employment opportunities as well as other amenities for First Nations.

The company has also provided a list of recreation works for the whitewater kayaking community. Those works include the construction of additional access points to the creek as well as installing an electronic water gauge to test the water levels in the creek. Boychuk said kayakers would be able to read the gauge online before heading out to the creek to kayak.

Another factor in getting SLRD approval involved the waste rock from the tunnel blasting.

Boychuk said that waste would be hauled to an abandoned gravel quarry on the Squamish Indian Reserve.

Finally, Ledcor will be providing a salmon enhancement channel in the creek as an amenity to the SLRD.

This channel is still in the design stages so the details of the size and scope of the project are still not clear but Boychuk confirmed the Ledcor channel would be connected to the existing salmon enhancement channel in the creek.

Councillor Nick Davies, who was filling in for Mayor Hugh O’Reilly as Whistler’s representative at the board meeting, asked if the power project would affect recreational fishing on those creeks.

"I’ve fished the Ashlu," said Davies.

"I just want to know if I’m still going to be able to fish the Ashlu."

Boychuk said the power project would be upstream of any fishing activities and would not interfere with recreational fishing.

He also added that the powerhouse for the Ashlu project has been moved further upstream to allow a bigger buffer zone between the power facilities and the salmon spawning area.

Ledcor hopes to be breaking ground for the IPPs in the summer and to have the projects operational in the fall 2006.

The Sigurd Creek project is not as far along in the planning process Boychuk said but Ledcor is hoping to get approval for both and develop them in conjunction with one another. There will be powerhouses for each creek and the transmission lines would interconnect, which would ultimately minimize the number of transmission lines going to the B.C. Hydro grid.

The public hearing for Ashlu and Sigurd Creek IPPs will take place on Monday, May 17 at the Sea to Sky Hotel in Squamish. The meeting will begin at 7 p.m.