If you want to scrap the Squamish Oceanfront development and come up with another plan, you'd better have $9 million in your pocket, says the project's board chair.
The plan to turn the District of Squamish's 64 acres of oceanfront property into a "world-class work-live-recreate" destination has received a lot of heat in the run-up to Saturday's (Nov. 19) municipal election. Council hopefuls questioned the project's $8 million debt and whether the Nexen land would be better suited to other options outside of the proposed one-third park, one-third light industrial and one-third residential.
Before the next council starts changing pieces of the puzzle, lawmakers should do their homework, said Bill McNeney, Squamish Oceanfront Development Corp. (SODC) chair.
It cost the SODC $880,000 to create its business plan and five months' worth of work, he said. The project's rezoning and the Sub Area Plan represent countless hours of community consultation, McNeney said.
"There has been lots of debate and discussion leading us into the current business plan," he said.
The business plan involves building the park as the first phase of construction, McNeney said, adding the proposal was approved by Scotia Bank, which loaned the SODC its cash.
It would be a "very large step backwards" to start second guessing the process, Mayor Greg Gardner said. It's taken the district five years to get to this point, the community has spoken and residents' vision is enshrined in the Official Community Plan at the Sub Area Plan level, he said. In municipal guidelines, Site B is set aside for industrial port expansion in the estuary management agreement, Gardner noted.
Gardner anticipates changes to plan and land uses as the project moves forward. Any proposed change comes with analysis, he added.
"I would suggest that any individuals who want to start proposing changes to the plan - I am not going to discourage them, I just want them to make sure that they have done their homework and understand all the background to why we are where we are today," he said.
Council has the right to look over anything it wants, former Squamish mayor Ian Sutherland said. Like Gardner, Sutherland said a lot of consultation and effort has gone into the Oceanfront plan.
"We had good conversation with the First Nations and they were on board with the project," he recalled. "The First Nations, at least the last time I spoke with them on it, didn't want heavy industrial down there."
Sutherland said he is concerned about the SODC's debt. The more the debt gains, the more Sutherland said he is worried council will accept something the community doesn't want.
"We need to make some decisions and move forward," he said.
