The Squamish Lillooet Regional District (SLRD) board took a baby step in the direction of regional transit, asking staff to estimate costs for three transit scenarios during a meeting Monday (Oct. 25).
A staff report suggested an inter-city bus service between Pemberton, Whistler and Squamish only, the same service with an extension to TransLink at Horseshoe Bay, or one that would link the entire corridor, from Pemberton to Lillooet and Lillooet to Kamloops and southern routes.
A motion by Squamish director Paul Lalli to refer the discussion to an elected officials' forum dedicated specifically to regional transit failed.
Pemberton Mayor Jordan Sturdy requested staff come up with costs of inter-city services connecting the major communities, with gasoline tax included to help pay for the services. That motion passed unanimously.
Susie Gimse, SLRD director for Electoral Area C, asked the municipal directors to take the issue back to their councils and determine a desired direction.
Gimse asked whether a recently secured $1.89 million grant from the Union of B.C. Municipalities regionally significant projects fund -money that comes from the federal gasoline tax -could be used to purchase buses or build transit infrastructure.
Paul Edgington, SLRD administrator, said staff would seek an answer from UBCM officials to that question.
The board also tentatively approved a six-month operating agreement for transit between Mount Currie, Pemberton and Whistler that includes a 50 per cent increase in service - but also higher fares.
The new operating agreement is to take effect Nov. 25 on the condition that the Village of Pemberton and Mount Currie Band councils approve the fares. Riders would pay $4.50 a ride for the Pemberton-Whistler commuter route (the current fare is $3) and either $2.50 or $3 for service within the Pemberton Valley. The current fare is $2.
SODC environmental waiver endorsed
Regional lawmakers this week gave their blessing to a Squamish Oceanfront Development Corp. (SODC) application to waive a provincial environmental assessment (EA) for parkland for the proposed mixed-use development on the oceanfront lands.
The board unanimously approved a staff recommendation the waiver "be supported as the project is expected to result in environmental, economic, social and health benefits."
Developers may apply to have a provincial EA waived if the project is determined to have no significant adverse effects on environmental, economic, heritage or health interests.
The EAO has referred the waiver application to other local governments and to First Nations for comment.
The waiver application applies to an 8.8-hectare parcel focusing on the foreshore area of the Squamish Oceanfront site, which is planned as parkland.
Patricia Heintzman, Squamish councillor and SLRD director, told the board tens of millions of dollars have already been spent remediating soil contamination from previous industrial uses.
"The whole site is remediated to the point where you can build either park, residential or commercial and there's an ongoing process to continue that remediation," she said.
"Is this a cost-saving measure?" asked Sturdy.
Heintzman said SODC officialsare "not shortcutting anything" in applying for the waiver.
"We're going out to other local governments to be sure we're being collaborative," she said.
"Everything that's being proposed here is intended to have a positive effect," said Steven Olmstead, SLRD director of planning and development, who wrote the staff report.
"There are really no adverse effects anticipated."
Hearing set on Britannia plan
The board passed second reading and set a public hearing for Nov. 17 on an application by the developers of a development and revitalization project in Britannia Beach to amend their zoning for the project to include a gas bar and restaurant with a drive-through window.
The entire project covers 3.14 hectares (7.75 acres) bordered by Highway 99 and the Britannia Mining Museum. The rezoning of the property, first sought by developers Britannia Oceanfront Development Corp. in 2008, "is meant to be the catalyst to revitalize the Britannia townsite and create a more planned and vibrant community."
Renderings of the project show a pedestrian-oriented village with front porches, historic-style streetlamps and promenades.
When the original rezoning application came forward, the gas-bar and restaurant uses "were purposefully omitted from the original bylaw by SLRD staff, as these uses were considered to be in conflict with a pedestrian-oriented village development," according to a staff report.
In July 2010, after the board turned down these uses, members received a number of letters from the community requesting reconsideration. The board then asked SLRD staff to work with the developer and community, and on Oct. 6, the developers hosted a public meeting to present a revised plan.
"There was significant support for the revised plan and the addition of these uses," said the report by SLRD strategy planner Kim Needham.
A public hearing is set for Nov. 17 at 7 p.m. at the Britannia Beach Community Centre.
IPP streamflow funding approved
The board voted unanimously to approve an additional $25,000 to perform streamflow monitoring on Ferguson (Sucker) Creek near Gold Bridge, with an eye toward establishing a community-run independent power project on the creek.
The SLRD has already spent $25,000 aimed at determining the feasibility of such a project, which would generate power for the B.C. Hydro grid and revenue for the regional district.
While the district doesn't yet have a water licence for such a project, it has an understanding with B.C.'s Integrated Land Management Bureau (ILMB) that such a project is being explored, said Needham.
Heintzman asked why the district wasn't simply soliciting for a private partner to team up on the project. SLRD Chair Russ Oakley said several potential partners have already expressed interest.
Current data on snowpack leads officials to believe a project will be viable, but about two years' worth of streamflow data is needed before the project can proceed to the next stage, he said. "If we want to attract a partner, the first thing they're going to ask is, 'Do you have streamflow data?'" Needham said.
In answer to a question from Area B Director Mickey Macri, Edgington said that if the project proves to be viable, the cost of the feasibility studies will be reimbursed.
