At a special council meeting held Friday (May 14), council adopted the 2010 tax rate bylaw with a 32.3 per cent increase on major industry.
According to Mayor Greg Gardner the increase is meant to fix a calculation error in the original bylaw.
"The reason it's so high is only because there used to be two properties in that class and now there's only one, the Squamish Terminals, so when we're talking about averages it's not very accurate with only one property," said Gardner.
The average business property is going down 6.8 per cent.
Council members discussed this as a necessary tax break during Committee of the Whole budget discussions, saying they want to promote new business in Squamish.
Residential property taxes will also increase by 4.8 per cent, for an overall tax increase of 3.2 per cent.
Gardner said the residential increase reflects the increased assessments of three per cent.
Utilities will go up 1.1 per cent and light industry is going down 11.9 per cent.
Managed forests are going down 20.6 per cent because forest property value has gone down dramatically in recent years, said Gardner.
The average farm property is going up 3.3 per cent and recreation and non-profit properties, such as golf courses and campgrounds, are going up 5.6 per cent.
"I'm happy with the outcome of the budget, with the overall tax increase of 3.2 per cent, and that is a good accomplishment in a year when our labour costs increase alone resulted in a two per cent increase in taxes," said Gardner.
Can urges ban on bottled water
Squamish CAN members Mike Sheppard and Don Lawrence urged the district to "trust the tap" and lead by example by phasing out the sale and purchase of bottled water and improving access to public drinking water in all municipal and municipally owned buildings and spaces.
"Bottled water is a commodity that undermines public faith in tap water and requires massive amounts of fossil fuels to manufacture and transport," said Lawrence.
To gage public opinion within Squamish, a petition has been circulated asking residents to support getting rid of bottled water and according to Shepard, it has several hundred signatures already.
Coun. Patricia Heintzman was wholly in favour of supporting Squamish CAN's initiative.
"I'm certainly of the mind to put forward what is in front of us, but if we're going to say there's no water in the machines, then we need to put in a water fountain," said Heintzman.
"We don't want people to drink pop instead of water."
Coun. Paul Lalli brought up recent studies that actually ranked Squamish's tap water as being cleaner than bottled water, and called it a priority to educate the public about this type of information.
The motion was carried unanimously.
Environment Week challenges businesses
Climate Action Facilitator for the District of Squamish Brooke Carere asked council to proclaim May 30 to June 5 Environment Week.
Events include the Commuter Challenge, Bike to Work Week and Clean Air Day. Coordinators are asking workplaces in Squamish to register their business and compete with others across Canada for all three events.
"We are putting the onus on businesses and individuals to get involved and especially the district," said Carere. "It's a good cause and everyone should get involved."
Gardner called the last year's event "a huge success" and the motion to proclaim Environment Week was carried unanimously.
Joie de vivre recognized
Anyone looking to experience French music, culture and food can attend the St. Jean Baptiste celebration on June 24.
Nicole Guertin and Greg Fischer want to host the celebration along Cleveland Avenue, and asked council to close the street from 3 p.m. to midnight on June 24.
"It's a great way for others here in Squamish to experience the French culture that is very present here in Squamish," said Guertin. "Greg is a perfect example, he's German and he was the one who came up with the idea."
Guertin was intent on getting council involved in the day, inviting them to judge the blueberry and sugar pie contest.
Coun. Patricia Heintzman was fully supportive of the proposed event.
"St. Jean Baptiste is a good party no matter where you are, and the more cultures we can celebrate, the better," she said.
The motion was carried unanimously.
Dispute solution suggested
The district put forward a solution to its drawn out problem with a portion of the Squamish Lillooet Regional District (SLRD) Regional Growth Strategy: delete the offending section.
The section fundamentally alters the roles and responsibilities of municipalities with respect to land use policy.
"Our proposal outlines the difference between municipal control and SLRD control," said Gardner.
Squamish the bylaw has the potential to take over municipalities' autonomy over land use. It "requires" that municipal Official Community Plans (OCP) be "consistent" with the RGS settlement planning map.
This means Squamish could not amend OCP land use outside its settlement area without the consent of the SLRD board.
"If we are going to amend our OCP, we should have the discretion to do that. Period," said Coun. Doug Race.
Squamish has participated in the dispute resolution for four years and it has now proposed a rather simple solution to SLRD: d
RV limits adopted
Council adopted a bylaw that prohibits recreational vehicles in a recreational vehicle park for more than 30 consecutive days in any six-month period. This does not apply to grandfathered businesses.
Lalli was the sole councillor to oppose the resolution, and has strongly voiced his opposition since hearing from the RV owners at a public meeting.
"We've heard from several RV park owners that said it's too limiting. They need longer stays to make their business flourish. The true RV business is really three to four months and after that there is no business. This is too narrow," he said.
