Many in Furry Creek like the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District’s new zoning bylaw, but other Area D residents are not so happy.
Last Thursday, the SLRD held a public hearing inside District of Squamish council chambers to take input from Area D residents about the proposed bylaws for the official community plan and zoning.
A crowd of about 75 people filled the room and spilled out into the foyer for presentations. While there were a few comments and letters about the Official Community Plan (OCP) bylaw, the majority of the discussion was about the new zoning.
“The intent of this bylaw is to consolidate the three different bylaws,” said SLRD planner Ian Holl. “There’s quite a variation in regulation between the three.”
Much of the discussion at the hearing focussed on the future of the Furry Creek Golf Course. Early in the presentation, Holl said the bylaw determines the golf course will remain a golf course.
The Furry Creek Land Development Corporation, which operates the course, had stated earlier in a letter to the SLRD that it wanted an option for various uses that could include residential, commercial or use for other amenities in the future.
“Our vision for this property was more than a golf course,” said vice-president of development Jason Wexler, representing the development corporation. Wexler spoke about similar redevelopments by the company at other sites, such as Gallagher’s Canyon near Kelowna, which he described as one of its “crowing achievements.”
However, resident after resident, including some from the Furry Creek Community Association, supported the bylaw. Former Area D director Maurice Freitag said it sets out a master plan for the area.
“It gives people certainty,” he added.
David Hildreth dismissed any suggestions the new bylaw was an example of “downzoning,” which is aimed at reducing density. “Furry Creek is already a planned community,” he said.
Many residents said they are not opposed to more development at the golf course but did not support a “carte blanche” approach for the development corporation. Some suggested the onus is on the development corporation to come to the community with details of its plans and how these could affect issues such as traffic or density.
“Be specific, commit it to paper,” Valerie Casselton said.
While most Furry Creek residents at the meeting spoke in favour of the zoning bylaw, some from Britannia Beach opposed new regulations limiting the floor area of residential buildings on sites to 465 square metres – just over 5,000 square feet.
Resident John Violette, who runs his business from home, said he would be able to build his house, which is over the maximum, as it is already in process, but he would be limited in terms of adding a garage because of maximum sizes on accessory buildings. “You are limiting people who want to work from home,” he said.
Other residents cited concerns about limits on homes and carriage houses.
One resident, Bradley Harris, described the SLRD bylaw as “blanket zoning.”
An Upper Squamish Valley resident, Jay Bicknell, said, “Clearly, the community in the Upper Squamish Valley is going to be a different kind of community than Furry Creek.”
Area D Director Tony Rainbow said it is possible the regional district board could still “pull back” on the bylaw process to consider the feedback. “That’s certainly our prerogative to do that.”
