The Sea to Sky Gondola may appear to be on its way to receiving the go-ahead, but those opposed to the project aren't going down without a fight.
The proposal, which would see a tourist gondola built from a point near Highway 99 to the top of a ridge below Mount Habrich, between Stawamus Chief and Shannon Falls provincial parks, has so far cleared most of the hurdles it has faced at the local, regional and provincial levels.
Zoning for the top station still requires final approval from the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District (SLRD) board, and the proponents are still working to secure an all-important park-use permit from the provincial government.
Earlier this month, legislation to alter the boundary of Stawamus Chief Provincial Park to make way for the project passed third reading and final approval on that measure appears to be merely a matter of time.
However, project opponents insist their concerns about the environmental and social impacts haven't received a sufficient airing, and are calling on provincial officials to open up the process of reviewing the proponents' application for a park-use permit for public input, rectifying what they see as a flawed process to date.
There certainly still seem to be opportunities for the minister to hear the public's concerns and to fix the flaws in the process, Anders Ourum, a spokesman for the group Friends of the Squamish Chief (FOSC), said on Tuesday (June 19).
As far as we are aware and can see, the policy is that until there's a permit, there's no permit and you can't operate or build.
David Greenfield, one of two principals of Sea to Sky Gondola Corp., said that while there are still loose ends to tie up elsewhere, the park-use permit is a key step and the one that proponents are spending most of their time on.
That is the document that would allow us to actually construct the gondola, he said. The application can't be fully reviewed until the protected area is put in place. Until that's done, they can't actually issue a parks permit. So that's a key step, for sure.
Greenfield said that if all goes well, the proponents should be able to begin construction on the gondola this fall.
One of the key things that we've been working hard at is the tree management protocol. Our goal is to be able to preserve as many trees as we can so that the ride itself has the feel of moving through the wilderness, not through a clear cut.
The good news is that more than three-quarters of the gondola line actually clears the existing tree cover at this point. That gives us an opportunity to look at preserving a lot of what's left. When we get to that point, it looks like we're going to have very little impact at all on the trees.
FOSC, though, last Thursday (June 14) submitted some 900 signatures and comments to the Minister of Environment from those who oppose the project.
We stand firm, on behalf of the hundreds of concerned park lovers represented by this petition, in our request to immediately halt the processing of any further applications related to this gondola proposal until a full, impartial public hearings are hosted in Vancouver, Squamish and through whatever means necessary to ensure all affected park stakeholders are consulted, the group wrote in a statement.
Ourum said the project would change this iconic park forever and will set a dangerous precedent for commercialization and developer-led consultation for future applications.
Greenfield said the decision on whether to seek further public input on the project is up to B.C. Parks, not the proponents.
