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Save the last village forest, says Whistler Watch

Whistler Watch, the local organization instrumental in changing council’s mind about a proposed public-private partnership two years ago, has rallied to another cause — saving the trees in the last village forest.
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If a Tree Falls... Councillor Eckhard Zeidler listens to concerns on Sunday about the municipality's plans to cut the trees on Lot 1/9 to create a 2010 medal plaza. Photo by Brad Kasselman, www.coastphoto.com.

Whistler Watch, the local organization instrumental in changing council’s mind about a proposed public-private partnership two years ago, has rallied to another cause — saving the trees in the last village forest.

On Sunday, March 16, the group organized what it billed as a “tribute” to the trees on Lot 1/9. The site is slated for development to make way for Celebration Plaza, where the nightly medals ceremonies and concerts will take place during the 2010 Games.

Between 75 and 80 people gathered on the edge of the forest in the chilly weekend afternoon, some with signs proclaiming: “Let’s go for the ‘real’ green Games,” while the local RCMP looked on, taking video footage of the crowd.

Whistler Watch has now issued a challenge to the municipality: save half the trees in the forest.

“There’s over 800 trees so I’m challenging the municipality to try to keep half of them,” said Watch member Stephen Vogler, after Sunday’s tribute. “We’ll be counting again after the chainsaws wind down and see just how green we really are in this town.”

Work on the four-acre site is expected to get underway shortly. The site must be cleared and serviced, at a cost of roughly $11.2 million, in order to accommodate 8,000 people each night for the medal ceremonies.

Mayor Ken Melamed said at Monday night’s council meeting that while the municipality is committed to saving as many trees as possible, they cannot put a precise number on it.

Earlier Monday, he spoke of his understanding of the deep passion for protecting what he calls “icons of our British Columbia heritage.”

“People love trees,” he said simply.

“The longer something is there, people grow attached to it.”

Melamed also noted at the council meeting that the forest on Lot 1/9 is not as environmentally sensitive as other protected areas, such as the Emerald Forest.

The trees in question are located between the Brew House Pub and the Whistler Medical Centre, adjacent to Blackcomb Way.

Even before Sunday’s organized tribute, a lone campaigner, who wishes to remain anonymous, had been hanging decorations on the trees with messages like: “I want to live” and “Pave Paradise.”

The municipality, however, has long planned the site for development, with zoning for both recreational/cultural space and commercial space associated with the land for more than 15 years.

“One of the legacies of developing the Lot 1/9 site is that it has zoning potential which has revenue generation potential,” said resort parks planning manager Martin Pardoe this week.

“Given the recent discussions in the community about the property tax increase and concerns about budget, I would think that the community would support more so now the development of revenue generating potential on sites that we own in the village.”

However, the funding to develop the revenue-generating potential on Lot 1/9 — including an ice rink, roof and conversion of buildings left behind after the Olympics — is not secured. The municipality has budgeted $14 million in total to clear the site, prepare it for the Celebration Plaza and add some amenities such as play features and water features after the Games. (See related story.)

Pardoe, who presented a report about the plans for Celebration Plaza at Monday’s council meeting, reiterated the municipality’s commitment to save as many trees as possible in the development of the site.

Current plans show forest at the north end of the site and adjacent to Blackcomb Way will be retained.

“The municipality is genuine in its efforts to retain a portion of the forest that’s on that site and there’s many considerations that we have to take into play,” he said.

Listed among those considerations are: achieving the lasting legacies on the site such as a skating rink and an arts and cultural precinct, protecting the quality and health of the forest, protecting the site from flooding, and meeting the needs of the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Games (VANOC).

Both Pardoe and the mayor also spoke of the extensive two-year community consultation process to get to this point — a journey in which many voices were heard, including those who wanted to save the trees.

“We’d like to save as many trees as possible but we need to balance the long term aspirations of the resort community and respond to the community master planning process,” said Pardoe.

He added that the municipality is exploring the option of reusing the harvested wood.

To this, councillor Tim Wake stressed that wood products produced from Lot 1/9 should be sold locally.

As for the renewed calls this week to put Celebration Plaza on the driving range of the Whistler Golf Course or Skiers Plaza at the base of the mountains, Melamed said those were considered at one point but it was the community that chose to develop a so-called “lasting legacy” from the Games rather than install a “temporary overlay” for a short period of time in 2010.

Vogler said Whistler Watch has no plans to ramp up a protest to cutting down the trees. The organization was not involved in subsequent e-mails that were distributed to community members calling for a “march” on Sunday.

Whistler Watch was formed in early 2006 to campaign against the proposed public-private partnership for upgrades and the subsequent operation of the wastewater treatment plant.

Vogler said the organization “jumps into action when it feels there’s an important issue that needs to be spoken about.”

He counts Sunday’s tribute with its countdown cake, much like the VANOC countdown cakes, and musical accompaniment from Kostaman, a success.

“At this point I think all we can do is try and have an impact on how it’s going to be built there,” said Vogler.

“I think the ball is in their court now to see if they want to heed any of the messages that people value this natural habitat in the village and to see how they’re going to deal with it now.”

-with files from Claire Piech