The Squamish-Lillooet Regional District (SLRD) directors approved a Temporary Use Permit (TUP) that will permit use of the Canadian Snowmobile Adventures staging area as a Department of National Defence (DND) security base camp during the 2010 Olympics.
The permit will also allow the company's dogsled tours to continue for another two years in the area.
A request for decision report by SLRD Planner Amica Antonelli said the security base camp would be in use from Nov. 1, 2009, to April 15, 2010. The camp would require elements such as additional land clearing for temporary buildings and tents for up to 140 people, a drilled well, temporary washroom facilities, snowmobile storage, some road building and connecting electricity to the site.
The directors approved the TUP at Monday's (April 27) regular board meeting with amendments such as more detail about the site reclamation plan and better reflection of the riparian area regulations.
A March 17 draft reclamation plan for the DND staging area describes procedures to be carried out by Canadian Snowmobile staff after the DND camp closes up shop in 2010, including removal of gravel and drainage ditches to restore the site to its original surface condition, and revegetation efforts.
A condition of the TUP is that the area "shall be free of fuel contamination and restored as nearly as may reasonably be possible to the same condition as it was on the commencement date of the permit," and the reclamation of the campsite must follow the Cascade plan.
RGS debate grinds on
During a report on Regional Growth Strategy (RGS) progress, some directors stressed the importance of soon holding a forum to ensure all local officials, including new council members in municipalities within the SLRD and local First Nations, are up to speed.
Pemberton's council recently passed a resolution seeking a meeting with those parties and provincial officials, Electoral Area C Director Susie Gimse said.
"I'd like to suggest that we do that sooner rather than later."
Squamish Coun. Patricia Heintzman said it could be helpful to bring together all the parties for some RGS shoptalk, noting representatives from other areas might not understand the District of Squamish's reasons for rejecting the RGS, and Squamish's officials perhaps don't understand fully why the others approved the document.
But SLRD Board Chair Russ Oakley said the priority at this point should be dealing with Squamish's concerns.
"Squamish are the ones that haven't signed on, that's why we're dealing with Squamish," he said.
The report from SLRD Chief Administrative Officer Paul Edgington proposed labelling the current discussions between the SLRD and the District of Squamish as a non-binding resolution process, to comply with the Ministry of Community Development's expectations for resolving the RGS impasse. Minister Kevin Krueger has instructed the parties to move into non-binding dispute resolution by May 1.
Edgington's report states "the present opposition to the RGS appears to be more positional than interest driven. I suspect that a review and education on process on content will reveal that many of the positional concerns may be unfounded."
In a proposed action plan, Edgington suggested holding an Elected Officials Forum in June or July 2009.
Heintzman and Gimse said they would be satisfied if staff could make sure the forum could happen in June, with the participation of local First Nations and provincial officials.
Britannia sign given go-ahead
After sparking spirited debate among board members at meetings late last year, a project sign for the Britannia Oceanfront Developments has earned a Development Variance Permit (DVP).
Some directors had expressed concerns over the sign, and the prospect of allowing more billboards along the highway past Britannia Beach, when an earlier version of the proposal came before the board. With a heavy timber frame and corrugated metal roof, the proposed sign's total height would be five metres, with a total area per side of 20.2 metres square. A covenant will be registered so the sign will only be able to stay in place for two years, according to a report from Planning Technician Tracy Napier.
Call to bolster bluffs
The president of the Furry Creek Community Association is calling on the B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure to stabilize the Porteau Cove bluffs and to create a plan for dealing with lengthy road closures caused by natural disasters such as last July's rockslide.
Furry Creek Community Association president David Hildreth said the July 29, 2008 rockslide at Porteau Cove turned a spotlight on the concerns of residents who use the Sea to Sky Highway every day.
"What is most frustrating is that the inherent instability of the Porteau Cove bluffs has been common knowledge among geotechnical experts for some time," Hildreth wrote, calling the area "a potential Achilles Heel" left unimproved by the highway project.
Remembering the problems faced by his own family as he was in the hospital during the rockslide, Turner asked the SLRD board to support the well-drafted letter, saying that particular spot has long been a problem.
