Skip to content
Join our Newsletter

Reduced parking paves way for Rainbow

Bylaws prepared by end of October, public hearing to follow

Whistler’s largest employee housing project could still be on track to break ground in the spring.

New information on the Rainbow lands project, presented to council at Monday’s afternoon workshop, revealed that most of the problems with the development are well on the way to being solved.

Council may even consider first and second readings of the development bylaws in a special meeting later this month. The project is to deliver more than 300 units of employee housing to a waitlist of more than 500 applicants and their families.

"It’s encouraging to see a lot of the issues being resolved," said Councillor Ken Melamed. "It’s getting closer."

The development deal hinged on a Memorandum of Understanding, signed by the developers, the municipality and the Whistler Housing Authority in March. That deal outlined how many units of housing were to be built before there had been a detailed analysis of the site. When that detailed work was completed the planners ran into problems fitting it all onto the site.

"The site planning has been a real challenge here," said Bob MacPherson, general manager of planning and development services, in his presentation to council.

In recent weeks, staff recognized they were trying too hard to deliver what was outlined in the MOU and took a step back to determine what was the best plan for the site.

The revised site plan is close to being completed and, as it turns out, it’s very similar to what was envisioned in the MOU.

One major change is the parking requirements for the single family homes. MacPherson admitted the two cars per unit parking requirement was tough to meet. The underground parking that was originally proposed proved to be too expensive.

"The other thing that was absolutely killing us was the parking requirement," he said.

To fit the site better, the parking requirement has decreased from two parking stalls per unit to 1.25.

A revised site plan includes the use of carports, close to each node of development. It would be a short walk from the carport, shared by six or seven single family units, to the front door of each home.

"This is what we think the site is telling us to do," said MacPherson.

If the owners or renters at Rainbow feel as though they need a place to park a second car there may be reserved room in the commercial core area, located at the entrance to the neighbourhood, just a short walk away from any of the housing units.

Despite earlier concerns about the large size of the commercial development, staff is still leaning towards a recommendation that would see 19,000 square feet of commercial space developed.

"I don’t believe that that’s too far out of whack (for the neighbourhood)," said MacPherson.

The core area would have a grocery store the size of the Creekside Market, a restaurant/pub, video store, post office, and pharmacy, among other things.

Ninety per cent of residents’ daily needs could be met at this area, said MacPherson. Residents could saunter to the core, buy everything they need for dinner including a bottle of wine, and walk five minutes back home. This development concept of a "walkable" neighbourhood is in keeping with "smart growth" principles and MacPherson said there are many policy documents at the RMOW that support this direction.

Councillor Marianne Wade said she would still prefer to see the retail come on in a phased development so that portions would be built based on demand for the space. It is not expected that the retail would all be built at once, said MacPherson.

Melamed, who was also concerned about the size of the commercial, said it’s not so much the amount of square footage that is of concern now. But he said if the commercial was bigger than what was originally envisioned, perhaps there could be a reduction in the number of market units on the land.

Rainbow developers plan to build 35 single-family homes and 16 multi-family units at market prices. It’s the sale of these units that will give them their profit, as the employee housing is built and sold at a capped price.

Sewage treatment and water have also been concerns at the 45-acre site, located between Alpine and Emerald.

At one point developers investigated an option to build a self-contained sewage treatment plant, which would flush treated water into Green Lake. That proposal has been abandoned due in part to the sheer amount of time it would take to get approvals.

The Rainbow development can link into the municipal wastewater system, which would need a few upgrades to accommodate the flow.

As the sewage issue is resolved, a new problem has come up with the water. After significant testing the developers have found there is no potable water on the site.

There are, however, nearby wells which the municipality has explored in the last decade which could meet the development’s need. Those wells are located at Meadow Park and near the Alpine Meadows Market.

And so now the remaining challenges, according to MacPherson, are to refine the site plan, find water, define the business relationship between the parties, and prepare the bylaws.

The business relationship will outline how much market housing can be built before the employee housing is built, as well as buy out options for the municipality should the housing not be developed in a timely manner or in a way that they approve.

A special council meeting has been tentatively scheduled for Monday, Oct. 24 to bring the bylaws forward. If they are approved for first and second reading at that meeting, the municipality will then schedule a public hearing on the development, which allows people to speak out in favour or against the project.