On the day the historic Britannia General Store closed its doors for the last time, residents from the area gathered for a public information meeting to debate a development that will shape Britannia Beach’s future.
While it’s impossible to name every concern raised about the proposed Macdonald Development project, there were some standouts.
No to a McDonald’s, Tim Hortons or Whitespot drive-thru. Please don’t privatize our public amenities. Please reduce traffic. Please create a fair way to share flood-control costs.
If the company’s plans go through, what’s left of the historic shops in front of the mining museum will be transformed into 87 units of townhouses, rental and commercial space.
The developer had brought up the idea of adding a drive-thru restaurant to the area, but residents seemed to be opposed to the idea, saying they didn’t want the community to merely be a stop on the highway.
There was also head-nodding for the notion that small, independent businesses should take priority over franchises.
Concerns were also raised about the privatization of public amenities.
“We sold public land so we could have our amenities on private property – that’s a huge concern,” said Ron Fulber, a 30-year resident of Britannia Beach.
“Everything that we will be coming to visit as a community will be on private property and the rules around that will change in the future.”
For example, the Britannia Community Hall has become Macdonald Development’s property, following the company’s land purchase.
Fulber and many other residents also complained about traffic problems, saying that congestion on the Sea to Sky Highway was already a problem, and that this would only get worse as more people come to live and work in the area.
Some said traffic could be reduced by creating a bypass.
Others also suggested installing a left-turn signal for southbound travellers who want to enter Britannia via Copper Drive.
Finally, there were questions raised about flood management in the area.
One resident, Jane Iverson, was concerned longtime residents who won’t be living on Macdonald’s lands would end up paying for flood control costs that would only benefit those in the new development.
“Who is going to be responsible for paying for all of that?” she asked.
All of those concerns prompted responses from either the company, the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District, or both.
To start, the prospect of creating a drive-thru restaurant was addressed by company owner Robert Macdonald, who was present at the meeting.
“We hear if people don’t want Tim Hortons – OK, fine, no Tim Hortons,” said Macdonald. “People don’t want a McDonald’s – OK, fine, that’s OK – no McDonald’s. It’s not my cup of tea. It doesn’t fit with what we’re trying to do in this community, which is a mining-themed historical heritage experience.”
“If a community is dead-set against a White Spot – OK, that’s OK by me,” he said. “No White Spot.”
He also said that he was in favour of getting local businesses such as Galileo Coffee Company to have a place in the new development.
Macdonald also stressed that he wanted to be collaborative and work things out with the community.
There was applause from a number of residents following those remarks.
However, Macdonald’s assurances may not have been enough for others.
Almost immediately after the public meeting on Sept. 18, a Change.org petition was circulated online and has garnered 135 supporters as of press time.
The petition calls for the SLRD to ban drive-thru restaurants, escort services, adult entertainment, casinos or other gambling use in the Britannia Beach area.
These are wishes the SLRD may be able to grant. Because rezoning for the area is being negotiated at the moment, the area could be rezoned to ban drive-thru restaurants, as well as the other things the petition hopes to exclude.
However, while the SLRD can pick and choose how facilities in the area are used, it can’t bar specific users or corporations.
With respect to the concern that amenities such as the Britannia Community Hall would be privatized, Macdonald said that measures could be put in place to create the equivalent of public ownership.
For instance, he said, a 99-year lease for the community hall can be negotiated.
Macdonald also mentioned that ever since he bought the property, he has been very open with allowing community members to use the facility as they pleased.
The prospect of more traffic resulting from development was addressed by the SLRD.
Kim Needham, the director of planning, said that traffic on the highway was out of the regional district’s jurisdiction.
Instead, she said, it was an issue that would have to be addressed by the province.
When the SLRD rezones an area, it also gets referred to the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, or MOTI, which does traffic studies in the area.
There have been talks about creating a bypass, however, details haven’t been fleshed out, Needham said.
“We know where the bypass is, we know it’s in reserve, we don’t know exactly how MOTI will configure that,” she said.
Regarding flood management, Needham said it’s been proposed to have a geonet catch debris along the creek.
Maintenance would be needed for the structure, and it will be likely that the SLRD will have to foot the bill for it.
However, she said, the floodworks wouldn’t just protect the Macdonald properties. Other structures in Britannia would benefit.
Tony Rainbow, the director who represents Britannia Beach in the SLRD, added that the works would protect the railway and the highway as well, which would involve other government bodies.“We’re aware of the situation and the complexity of it, and it’s being negotiated,” he said.
Brent Kapler, construction manager for Macdonald Development, said that many of the floods in the area resulted from man-made structures.
He pointed out that many of the dams in the area that were blamed for those problems have since been decommissioned.
As a result, costs for maintaining floodworks could be quite low, he said.
