Council for the District of Squamish expressed "serious concerns" in a Thursday (July 27) news release over a memorandum of understanding drafted during negotiations between the board that oversees Oceanfront development and their joint venture partner, Qualex Landmark.
The district stated in the news release that council has directed Qualex to appear in municipal chambers in September to mitigate the concerns.
"There are some things that needed to be qualified and there were some things in the agreement that council wasn't happy with and they've been passed on to Qualex and the SODC and they're working through that," said Mayor Ian Sutherland. "The concerns were around making sure that we protect our assets and our ability to control what happens if something goes wrong with Qualex down the road."
Council members have already made Qualex aware of their concerns over the last few months, and the development company has said the issues can be ironed out, added Sutherland.
"I think that everything that was a concern can be addressed," he said. "And they seem to think they can all be worked through."The news release also stated that council reaffirms the joint venture partnership and has directed the SODC to continue negotiations with Qualex.
"Council has a lot of confidence in SODC," said Sutherland. "I think it's fair to say council's impressed by the abilities of Qualex. At the same time we owe it to everybody and owe it to ourselves to make sure that we get the best possible deal for Squamish."
The memorandum of understanding (MOU) completion date is targeted for Sept. 19, and the next step is a 12-month master planning process that will look at "every possible option" for the land including industrial, commercial, arts, residential and recreational, said Sutherland.
Qualex is confident enough to have already begun some preliminary work on the land but the MOU is still a top priority, said Sutherland, and the next step will involve formalizing the agreement in a master planning process with public input.
