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Council Briefs: Westin saga nearing end

The municipality hopes to tie up another loose end in the messy Westin Hotel and Spa development soon. At least 552 square metres of space within the hotel is non-conforming.

The municipality hopes to tie up another loose end in the messy Westin Hotel and Spa development soon.

At least 552 square metres of space within the hotel is non-conforming. On Tuesday council directed municipal staff to draft a rezoning application that would bring some of this office and storage space into compliance.

Council is also requesting that the Westin owners submit a letter of credit worth $140,000 in lieu of seven required parking stalls it did not build.

And they are asking the owners to pay all their outstanding application processing fees.

The municipality's problems with the Westin date back almost 10 years, to when Cressey Developments was building the hotel in 2000.

Beyond the extra gross floor space, the hotel also did not build enough employee housing on-site. That issue, though, will be rectified through Cressey's Fitzsimmons Walk development.

On Tuesday, councillors asked if there is any way the municipality can recoup the huge costs in staff time that have developed over the past decade as they deal with this development.

Joe Mooney from the municipality replied: "There are very few ways to recoup money.

"That is one of the costs of doing business as a municipality."

Film fest boosted occupancy 11 per cent

"Bigger and better than ever. On the verge of becoming important."

That was the way the Vancouver Sun described December's Whistler Film Festival. And on Tuesday night, the festival's organizer came armed with statistics to further show council how her program got bigger and better this year.

"Resort occupancy during the festival period increased 11 per cent," said Shauna Hardy Mishaw, executive director of the Whistler Film Festival Society.

"We had a 7 per cent increase in attendance with a total of 7,596 people attending."

Hardy Mishaw said room nights booked increased by 28 per cent over the festival period, with more than half of the attendees coming from outside the Whistler area.

The festival also generated a 3 per cent increase in media impressions, valued at $750,000, including coverage from major international press like Variety , The Hollywood Reporter, Entertainment Tonight and Etalk .

"You are helping to provide some of the opportunities and some of the economic drivers to carry us forward into the future. I think this is tremendous," said Mayor Ken Melamed after hearing Hardy Mishaw's presentation.

Added Councillor Chris Quinlan: "As one of the businesses that was really affected by the festival, it doesn't only kick start the ski season, it really kicks ass."

Hardy Mishaw said the Whistler Film Festival also has some big projects on the horizon.

Among many things, they are formalizing a joint venture with the Canadian Film Centre (CFC) to create more professional development programs for people involved in the film business.

The group is also raising money to turn the Rainbow Theatre in the Telus Conference Centre into a state-of-the-art digital cinema interface facility.

Whistler gives thumbs up to private GEMS school

Whistler council threw its support behind Pemberton's proposed private school on Tuesday.

In a 5-2 vote, council agreed to provide a letter of support to the developers planning a GEMS international school on the Ravens Crest property.

"I don't think it is within Whistler's place to tell Pemberton and Area C how they can diversify their economy," said Councillor Grant Lamont.

Added Councillor Tom Thomson: "I would like to say that there are checks and balances within Pemberton and the Regional District, and they will do their due diligence to make sure your feet are held to the fire if needed, as it is not Whistler's preview to do that at this time."

Councillor Eckhard Zeidler and Mayor Ken Melamed were the only voices of opposition.

Melamed, who sits on the Squamish-Lilloeet Regional District (SLRD), has made it well known in the past he is against the project.

"As you know, I have taken the position at the regional district that the GEMS school potentially runs against the community feedback and envisioning process... in terms of resident housing, affordability and protection of agriculture in the Pemberton area," reaffirmed the mayor Tuesday.

GEMS Education, established 40 years ago, is based in Dubai and has international schools all over the world, including India, the UK and South Africa.

The boarding school planned for Pemberton will have a specific International Baccalaureate focus.

Renters get protection for 2010

Worried about getting kicked out of your rental home during the 2010 Winter Olympic Games? E-mail renters@whistler.ca .

In preparation for the property owners expected to apply for "temporary use permits" (TCUPs) for Games-time, the municipality is setting up safeguards for tenants.

The Whistler Housing Authority (WHA) will administer an e-mail service and maintain a database of complaints. Each TCUP applicant will be checked against the database.

Beyond the e-mail, the municipality will also require any TCUP applicants to submit a statutory declaration stating they haven't evicted anyone - or refused to renew or extend a rental lease.

And, to further deter property owners from kicking out their tenants, the municipality plans to charge violators up to $1,000 a day.

Conference centre parking will close for TWSSF

Drivers won't be able to park their cars inside the Telus Conference Centre parking garage on Friday, April 17 between 4 a.m. and 8 p.m.

The underground parking lot will be closed that day to make way for a skateboarding event that has been added to the the Telus World Ski and Snowboard Festival roster - the "Park N Fly Skate Jam."

Festival organizers Watermark said they will post temporary information and directional signs at the entrance to the underground lot one week before the event, as well as run ads in local newspapers.

Alternative parking is available at the day lots, as well as the paid parking spots near the conference centre, said Bob Andrea, manager of village animation for the municipality.