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Squamish council digs in heels over Discovery Way development

An application by Anthem Properties to thin vegetation on District of Squamish lands triggered a spirited debate at council on Tuesday night after various stakeholders sent letters voicing concerns about the plan and the process.

An application by Anthem Properties to thin vegetation on District of Squamish lands triggered a spirited debate at council on Tuesday night after various stakeholders sent letters voicing concerns about the plan and the process.

The previous week Squamish council had moved a motion forward at a Committee of the Whole meeting that would support Anthem's request to improve sight lines from the highway to the property off Discovery Way. If developed as planned, the lot will include a Holiday Inn hotel, two restaurants and space for retail businesses opposite Home Depot and Wal-Mart.

On Tuesday several councillors balked over the wording of a motion to continue thinning that didn't make it clear that public input would still be sought. Councillors also indicated that they had been contacted by stakeholders who felt left out of the discussion. Those people were shown a letter by the developer that suggested Anthem Properties already had the backing of council.

Councillor Bryan Raiser put forward a motion to defer any authorization to continue the process until stakeholders have had a chance to comment.

Councillors Paul Lalli and Doug Race objected, believing that the wording of the resolution allowed for more involvement by stakeholders in the future. Lalli favoured rewriting the motion to stipulate that more stakeholder consultations will take place.

"This issue has been going on for 16 months," he said. "I don't really think that's fair from an investment point of view. That's not to take away from those that have concerns, those need to be addressed and moved forward.

"I would rather have a positive motion to continue the process. A deferral, to me, will stop the process..."

Mayor Greg Gardner said that he would have preferred that council not be involved in the process this early, and that ideally Anthem and the stakeholders would have worked with district staff before bringing the matter to council or the Committee of the Whole.

"I supported this motion, as did six of us at the time (at the Committee of the Whole)," said Gardner. "However, things that came to light after that give me pause. Not the vote, but the way that's being interpreted. I have one e-mail from proponents that gave the impression that a decision had been made."

Gardner also pointed out that the Committee of the Whole gave Anthem an opportunity to speak at the meeting, which was unusual, but did not extend the same invitation to other stakeholders.

Raiser agreed. "I don't want to give (Anthem) the idea that I said 'go'... which is the impression I got (from the e-mail). I want to make sure nothing is done with our land until there is consensus from stakeholders, one of them being Anthem Properties, and the other one being the other groups in town. It's our land and it's rare to have the power to say no, we're going to leave the trees and we should use that to our advantage."

Raiser's motion was passed and the issue was referred back to staff with an expectation that staff would act quickly to bring the issue back to council.

 

Squamish outlines capital spending priorities

The District of Squamish outlined capital spending priorities for 2010 at a Committee of the Whole meeting on Tuesday, looking at all of the projects on the books for the next few years. Each will be considered separately during the budget process and the public will be invited to give input on the projects.

Mayor Greg Gardner brought the capital spending list up at the regular council meeting while inviting Squamish residents to a town hall meeting on Dec. 12.

On the top of the list is $150,000 to improve the RCMP headquarters, including upgrades to cell security, server separation, a secure reception area and a digital camera system. The money will come from capital reserves.

Next up were three grants to the Squamish Emergency Program, with matching funds from the national Joint Emergency Preparedness Program. The projects include $29,000 to upgrade to a new satellite system used by other emergency groups, modifications to the breakout room to include a new server room and emergency call centre, and a weather monitoring system for Alice Ridge and Cloudburst Mountain to provide early warning for floods. Funding will come from long term debt and matching funds from JEPP.

The District is budgeting $425,000 to rip rap the Squamish Dyke to protect against erosion and future flooding, with $283,000 from the Build Canada Grant program and $141,000 in long term debt financing.

Then there is $100,000 for offsite servicing for the Riverstones affordable housing project, which includes sidewalks, sewers, storm sewers, draining and ditching. The actual total is closer to $250,000 but just $100,000 is budgeted for 2010. Of the total cost, roughly $100,000 will come from the Affordable Housing reserve, $130,000 from the Water Utility User Fees, and $20,000 from the Sanitary Sewer Utility User Fees.

The O'Siem Community Pavilion will also go forward with a total 2010 budget of $500,000, with $375,000 coming from a provincial Towns For Tomorrow grant, and the remaining money coming from reserves.

The District of Squamish is also spending just over $200,000 this year and next to build and upgrade 12 bus shelters through town, with funding from the provincial Public Transit Agreement and the Public Transit Infrastructure Program based on the federal Gas Tax Grant program.

The Corridor Trail program will continue in 2010 with the goal of completing a section of trail from Garibaldi Way north of Depot Road and from the Squamish Adventure Centre to the Stawamus Chief. Roughly $850,000 is budgeted with $144,000 from the Regional Gas Tax Grant and $706,000 from reserves.

The full list is posted at www.squamish.ca under Council Agendas for Nov. 3.