The Squamish Oceanfront development Corporation (SODC) now has a full contingent of board members, a first step towards renewing efforts to move ahead with the project.
District of Squamish Council appointed Doug Race, Nelson Winterburn, Janice MacLean, Carl Ingraham, Ed Scott, Bill McNeney and Mike Robertson to fill the seven vacancies currently on the SODC's board of directors.
"I think we're very fortunate with who we have been able to appoint to the board," said Mayor Ian Sutherland. "They have some very different perspectives and should be very positive in moving forward.
"It was a very difficult decision picking these members as we received 20 good applications."
The new appointees will join existing board members Larry Murray, Tom Bruusgaard, Ted Prior, Grant McRadu, Gina Belanger, John Turner, Dale Harry and Brent Leigh.
The appointments come following the departure of a number of members after the SODC's proposed development partner, Qualex, pulled out from the project last fall.
At the time, Qualex cited inadequate consensus within the community and council, for no longer wishing to move forward.
Sutherland sees the new appointments as a way in which that consensus can be built up, and help the project move ahead.
"Council is looking at this as the start of the process from the beginning," said Sutherland. "Council has made some big steps in this area including looking at a joint planning exercise with Westmana. And obviously there are some things to be revisited one day in council."
In February the district began the process of searching for new board members and restarting the development process with the SODC lands, calling in renowned planning experts Larry Beasley and Jim Lowden to help council look at the issue.
"If the community consensus is not there, newly elected officials will tear it apart," Beasley warned at the time, noting that consistency in vision is important.
According to Sutherland the lessons they learned during that session are playing a major part in how they move ahead.
"This process will be dealt by two or more councils, so we need to keep this together and moving ahead," he said.
Coun. Patricia Heintzman echoed Beasley's concerns about the importance of having structure in any development process.
"We've had problems in the past in the community where people haven't necessarily known or head what was going on with different developments," said Heintzman. "It's very very important that as we move forward, on any development project that there be good communication with the community."
