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Whistler council preview for Tuesday, July 23

First look: OCP third reading; GHG report; Employee Housing Policy on the agenda
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Council will consider giving third reading to Whistler's long-awaited Official Community Plan at its next meeting, scheduled for Tuesday, July 23. File photo by Braden Dupuis.

Here's a quick look at what to expect at Tuesday's council meeting, kicking off at 5:30 p.m. at the Maury Young Arts Centre.

OCP THIRD READING

Council will consider giving third reading to Whistler's long-awaited Official Community Plan at the July 23 meeting.

The OCP bylaw has been amended slightly from the version last seen at a public hearing on April 16, to reflect the wide range of comments heard from the public.

Director of planning Mike Kirkegaard will present on the latest version of the OCP bylaw before council considers third reading later in the meeting.

GHG REPORT

Council will also receive the Resort Municipality of Whistler's (RMOW) 2018 energy consumption and greenhouse gas trends report at the July 23 meeting.

While Whistler averaged emissions increases of 4.7 per cent from 2014 to 2017, 2018 actually saw a slight decrease, to the tune of three per cent.

Nevertheless, Whistler remains off pace to meet the community's 2020 GHG reduction target of 33 per cent (below 2007 levels).

A "significant reduction" in passenger vehicle emissions and natural gas use will be critical to meeting the community's targets, the report states.

It will be the first presentation to council by newly hired climate change coordinator Maximilian Kniewasser

EMPLOYEE HOUSING POLICY

Also at the July 23 meeting, council will hear a presentation on the RMOW's new employee housing policy before considering adopting it.

The policy pertains to definitions around who is eligible for Whistler Housing Authority housing, and is broken down into three sections: eligibility changes to the employee housing program (for both rental and purchase); specific rental program qualifications; and increased compliance and enforcement across the employee housing program.

In part, the proposed changes would define an eligible employee as one who works a minimum of 30 hours per week in the resort (up from 20 hours/week), tighten the definitions around what constitutes a Whistler business, and require applicants to report their financial situation, including income and net assets, prior to offer of a tenancy agreement (find the full list of proposed changes in the July 23 council package starting on page 133: https://www.whistler.ca/sites/default/files/2019/Jul/meeting-package/package/26149/2019-07-23_regular_package.pdf).

Read more about the proposed changes here: https://www.piquenewsmagazine.com/whistler/whistler-housing-authority-looks-to-refine-eligibility-enforcement-guidelines/Content?oid=13728051

Pick up Thursday's Pique for more from council.