Proposed Squamish ski resort to ask for environmental extension
Credit to Author: Glenda Luymes| Date: Sun, 02 Feb 2020 01:20:23 +0000
Garibaldi at Squamish, a four-season mountain resort proposed for an area 15 kilometres north of Squamish on Mount Garibaldi’s Brohm Ridge, will apply to extend its environmental assessment certificate to 2026 in the coming months.
Work is progressing on the 40 conditions laid out in 2016 by the province, said project director Sabina FooFat, who took over from previous director Rod Macleod when he retired in September.
“We are working with Squamish Nation to come up with a new name, which we hope to announce soon,” she said.
The project, led by Aquilini Investment Group, has been revised since it was first proposed. At that time, it included two golf courses that encompassed Brohm and Cat lakes. The latest version includes no golf, while the resort’s footprint has been reduced by about half to 2,760 hectares. Current plans now show the main village at 1,100 metres — more than 360 metres higher than Whistler Village.
FooFat, a planner for the District of Squamish from 2004 to 2014, was originally against the first version of the project.
“There were components that everyone found a little challenging, particularly the golf courses at Brohm and Cat lakes,” she said.
She eventually left the municipality to work for the City of Vancouver, doing work on population growth and sustainability.
“I saw the growth projections for the future of the region,” she said about the factors that led her to change her mind about the project. “I was living in Squamish and seeing all the recreational amenities hit capacity, without a plan to address that pressure.”
The resort, which is supported by Squamish Nation, could address some of the issues, while also protecting sections of old-growth forest and trails within its boundaries.
But FooFat admitted challenges remain. The question of governance is tricky. The resort had asked the District of Squamish to examine the impacts of extending its boundaries to include the project, but council said it wants several major questions answered first.
“We recognize that this proponent needs local and regional government support to move forward, and the District of Squamish has been very clear since the environmental assessment process on our outstanding concerns,” Squamish Mayor Karen Elliott wrote in an email.
Council’s concerns include the impact on the “highway and the regional transportation network,” local real estate and water supply. They also want the resort to address “commercial failure scenarios … in order to mitigate any negative impacts this development could have on future (Squamish) taxpayers.”
FooFat said the EA certificate asks the local government to endorse a “high-level idea” with no process or timeline to guide them. But she remained confident in the project, which will aim to be the most environmentally-friendly resort in North America.
“It will be a great opportunity for B.C. to showcase all the innovation and progress that has been made on green building,” she said.
Under provincial law, the holder of the EA certificate can apply for one extension up to five years, at which point the project must be substantially started or the certificate expires.
In August, the B.C Court of Appeal ruled that a controversial and long-delayed ski resort near Invermere couldn’t be built without an environmental reassessment.
The Jumbo Glacier Resort was cancelled in 2015 when the environment minister found the developer had not substantially started the project before its certificate expired.
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