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Second homeowners want voices heard in election

Part-time residents share many concerns with full-time residents

Alan Macey's family has had a home in Alta Vista for about 45 years - one of the originals.

Phil Scott has owned a townhouse unit across from the Westin hotel since 1985.

And Sue Chappel has been an owner of a Phase 1 condo, which means she can rent it out nightly to guests when she's not using it, for almost 20 years.

Macey, Scott and Chappel are second homeowners. Though they may not live in Whistler full time, they are still deeply connected to the community, passionate about its success and they care about its future.

"We were committed to it by our parents," said Macey from his Tsawwassen home, "and we've committed our children to it and now our grandchildren. It's a place in perpetuity for us. Our passion and our understanding of Whistler is very deep."

It's no wonder then that each has concerns about November's election and they want their voices heard and their votes counted.

Chappel said second homeowners have many common concerns with full-time residents.

"All Whistler taxpayers are concerned about escalating costs of owning and doing business in Whistler," said Chappel, who owns an online property rental company. "They're concerned that those costs will be passed on to visitors and that is going to create yet another access barrier into the resort, and that hurts everybody."

At the same time, second homeowners aren't really represented as a group.

"I suppose the biggest concern has been taxation without representation," said Scott, who lives in Whistler for about five months of the year, generally throughout the ski season, before returning to his condo in Vancouver or his home in Nelson for the summer.

"We've always felt that there's been an inequality, an unfair balance between what we pay in terms of taxes, which is significantly more than what we pay in Vancouver or Nelson, yet we get far fewer services."

He points to garbage pick-up as a small example.

Second homeowners, he said, take advantage of the services provided by municipal hall far less than residents - they aren't putting daily strain on the water system and the sewer system, there's less wear and tear on the roads and the Valley Trail because they aren't here year-round, they don't visit the sports complex as often.

That's not to say they're looking for a lower tax rate, just more financial accountability when it comes to spending taxpayers' money.

"I think that would complicate the system," said Macey. "The problem exists with the budget process at municipal hall.

"I think the public sector of Whistler has lost its way in the sense that it is trying to provide too many things to too many people, where in fact it should analyze what it needs to do to meet the needs of the Municipal Act and add to that the functions that are necessary for the uniqueness of Whistler... What's happening is - the uniqueness got carried away."

He points to Whistler 2020, the municipality's long-range planning document, as an example of an added cost. Scott points to the Whistler Centre for Sustainability as an example of a business that the municipality shouldn't be in.

"It seems that it would behoove the municipality to do a better job of reaching out to second homeowners in an attempt to understand what their needs are, what their wishes are," said Scott.

The municipality has reached out this year.

In June council passed bylaws to allow B.C. residents to vote remotely by mailing their ballots to town hall rather than going to a voting station.

For years Macey has made the one-hour commute from his Tsawwassen home to a voting station in West Vancouver to log his vote for mayor and council, that's how passionately he cares about this town. This year he won't have to make the more than two hour round trip.

He hopes more second homeowners will take advantage of the new system and make their voices heard. It is not clear how much of an impact second homeowners have had in elections past.

Macey's biggest concern this election is controlling the cost of government, which he said has been totally out of hand in recent years as Whistler ramped up to the 2010 Olympic Games.

"I will support and encourage all those who are going to (vote by) the mail-in ballot, to deal with the candidates, particularly a very strong mayor, who is going to take issue with the required changes to minimize the level of government that's required to make Whistler function," said Macey.

It's a concern in a roundabout way for Sue Chappel too. Chappel runs alluradirect.com, which represents more than 500 Phase 1 property owners in achieving their rental goals online.

While she isn't speaking directly for them, she nevertheless has heard their concerns and some mirror her own as a Phase 1 owner.

It costs between $12,000 and $15,000 a year she said, just to turn on the lights in a standard two-bedroom rental property in Village North or the Blackcomb Benchlands. That just covers property taxes, strata fees, insurance, Tourism Whistler fees and utilities. It doesn't cover financing the mortgage or special assessments for building repairs.

"That's how much money is flowing in Whistler," said Chappel. "You get a clearer picture now about why some of them are motivated to rent.

"That's the cost. It's extraordinary and it's growing."

And yet, there's uncertainty about Phase 1 taxation and the potential for changes as the Resort Municipality of Whistler works to improve service levels for guests.

"Any increase in their annual costs is a big 'no' at this point," said Chappel.

She has a litany of concerns ranging from more transparency and proper notice for changes as it affects Phase 1 owners to serious concerns about legislating business regulations around the accommodation sector.

"The second homeowners share a lot of common big ticket election issues with local residents," said Chappel.

"It's because a lot of the election issues have their roots in a common problem, which is: insufficient visitation to support local economic sustainability."

The questions she said voters should be asking the candidates are: how do you plan on getting more people to Whistler? What will it take for this resort to bring in more people that are going to stay more than three nights?

No one, said Chappel, is talking about that.

"Instead of addressing that big, big elephant in the room, we're (discussing) all the problems around it," she said.