After more than six years of consultations, community input, project rejections, and general concern and anticipation, the downtown peninsula sub area plan could be adopted by early December.
The role of the sub area plan is to designate land use and specifics, such as use of commercial areas and building heights in residential areas throughout the entire downtown peninsula, which includes three property owners: the District of Squamish, Westmana Properties and the province.
Community services general manager Cameron Chalmers presented the plan to District of Squamish council in Municipal Hall on Tuesday (Oct. 12), and also took the opportunity to present details of the municipally-owned Oceanfront portion of the land.
An Oceanfront plan submitted to council July 27 showed this could include a hotel, university, green space and residences.
"We're in the finals stages of this plan and every comment and study completed has been factored into every decision and idea," said Chalmers.
"I have been to every open house and every meeting and I can comfortably say this reflects what we've heard."
The most significant headway to date, according to Chalmers, was council's endorsement of the policy statement, which he referred as a "recipe book" for the entire area.
A public open house on Oct. 28 and the official public hearing on Nov. 1 will give community members one last chance to make opinions known.
Five community members also attended the presentation including Ted Prior, who sat on the Squamish Oceanfront Development Corporation (SODC) board until July 2009. Prior said he had no immediate concerns but he would "have to sleep on it and bring them forward at the public meeting."
"After six years of paying attention to it, I think it's the plan everyone's been working on - it seems pretty solid."
Prior said he hoped the plan's high-density residential designation on Westmana's Blind Channel property would give the development company an edge after spending the better part of seven years trying to develop the plan.
The sub area plan comes only a week after it was announced the Westmana Park House development on the Mamquam Blind Channel had been handed over to a new development company, allowing the new owners to extend the two-year development permit by an additional year.
While making the recommendation to allow Westmana's development permit extension last week, Chalmers said development delays were due to the economic downtown.
This week, he would not reveal who took over the property and calls to Westmana president Rene David were not returned.
Ex-council member Mike Jensen also attended the sub area presentation and said he thought it showed balance. He said green space throughout the land and water's edge was impressive.
Having received details for the Oceanfront plan on July 27, councillors had two months to prepare comments on the proposed development of 124 acres of municipal land and water lots.
Coun. Patricia Heintzman put forward two motions - that the community centre be moved closer to a designated public green space and to explore separated cycling lanes.
"I noticed they are pretty much all bike lanes as opposed to separated bike lanes or paths," she said. "If we're going to do this from the very beginning, why not make it as safe and effective as possible?"
Both motions were carried unanimously.
Other concerns included commercial competition with downtown businesses, the high density residential area, traffic circulation, and main connections points between downtown and the Oceanfront.
Coun. Paul Lalli brought up the viability of the project, asking whether anyone had tested the market to see who might be interested in the marine and commercial use.
Chalmers said the market has been thoroughly tested by all three owners but details for investors were vague because the sub area plan hasn't yet been endorsed.
"At this point we're just establishing land use," said Chalmers. "We're not going to sell it out in one day though - it will take years to fill out."
Coun. Corinne Lonsdale was absent.
