Greensides Properties should know in a week whether they have title to the Whistler Campground lands and can go ahead with development of single family and duplex lots on the site. But if the company is allowed to go ahead it may mean Whistler is without a campground, at least temporarily. Whistler Campground owner Ruth Buzzard has until April 13 to appeal a court ruling that Greensides be allowed to exercise its option to buy the 15.2 hectare property. Buzzard said this week she is getting a second opinion on whether or not to appeal, however she’s not taking any camping reservations for the summer. Buzzard says Whistler Campground hosts between 400 and 500 people a day from mid-June to mid-September on its 153 sites. Councillor Max Kirkpatrick told council this week Whistler can’t afford to go into the summer without a campground. He said he counted 51 individuals or groups doing some form of camping in day skier parking lot No. 4 last Saturday. However, Doug O’Mara and Nigel Wood, who have proposed a campground on the property between Spruce Grove Park and the Nicklaus North Golf Course, are anxious to speed up their proposal and suggest they could have it operational by the summer. Another proposal for a campground on property adjacent to the Edgewater Hostel has been stalled since a public information meeting drew strong opposition. BCR Properties Ltd., a subsidiary of BC Rail, is looking for development rights for some of its extensive land holdings in Whistler and has suggested a campground may be one possibility. Meanwhile, David Ehrhardt of Greensides says he has two proponents who would like to build a private school on part of the Whistler Campground lands, as he had originally proposed, but says he has heard from the community that employee housing may be more desirable than a school. "We’re going to complete the zoning on site as per the public hearing, for single family lots, employee housing and the school," he said. "But we’ve been approached (about more employee housing) and we’re prepared to listen. "Our intention is to complete the existing rezoning application in the form it’s gone to public hearing. If it changes later that would have to be a separate application." He added Greensides is not in a position to make any agreements with the school proponents until the legal title to the land is resolved. "Hopefully common sense will prevail," he said.
