Thanks and goodbye.
After eight years, on Thursday (Nov. 7), the Squamish Oceanfront Development Corp. (SODC) board resigned en masse as the District of Squamish took over negotiations with Bethel Lands Corp. and Matthews Southwest Developments (MSW), the two companies selected to transform the 59-acre project.
Their job is done now, Acting Mayor Patricia Heintzman said of the many volunteer hours SODC board members put into finding a potential developer.
Last year, the municipality directed its wholly-owned subsidiary to pursue a transaction for the lands. Negotiations are now set to take place between the proponent and the municipality, Heintzman said.
District officials are enlisting the municipality's chief administrative officer, Corien Speaker, marketing/planning consultant Jay Wollenberg and the district's lawyer Don Lidstone as its negotiating team. They'll comb through details such as who pays for what infrastructure on- and off-site and development cost charges with the two developers.
The negotiation team will be supported by the SODC project manager Jonathan Silcock, Mayor Rob Kirkham, Linda Glenday, municipal general manager of development services and public works and Chris Bishop, the municipal director of planning. If an agreement is reached, it must come to council for approval.
The decision maker is council, Heintzman said, noting that details of a future deal will be made public when legally possible. If developers request changes to the property's sub-area plan a conceptual layout developed in consultation with the community those changes would be required to go through a public process, Heintzman added.
The SODC will continue to be operated by Glenday, Randy Stoyko, the district's general manager of business and community services, and director of engineering Rod MacLeod, with the three acting as an interim board.
Essentially it is just keeping the board legitimate while the liability is on the books, Heintzman said regarding the SODC's loans and other financing requirements.
Down the road, the SODC may remain intact, Heintzman said. Legally, the district can't be involved in a partnership. An arm's-length entity may fill that gap, she said. If negotiations fell apart, the role of an SODC board would be re-evaluated.
If it is sold outright, there is no need for an SODC function anymore and all the responsibility of the land will go to the new landowner, Heintzman said.
Names of unsuccessful oceanfront applicants remain confidential at the request of the companies, Heintzman said. Many businesses don't want their competition to know what they are bidding on, she noted.
We have signed something that says we won't reveal that because they've required that, Heintzman said, noting that that is a common practice. If a deal falls through, those previous applications could be re-engaged in the process. "You don't want to put all your eggs in one basket."
The SODC board's resignation came as a surprise to its chair, Bill McNeney. The two development finalists pitched to council on Tuesday, Oct. 8. SODC board members anticipated they would conduct further negotiations with the two parties, creating a more detailed list to produce a term sheet and recommendation for council, McNeney said.
After the presentations, district officials selected MSW and Bethel to take on the project. At the end of the day, it's ultimately the community that wins, McNeney said, noting both shortlisted applicants met the SODC's desired parameters. Having volunteered for six years to move the oceanfront project forward, McNeney said it was always the board's goal to put itself out of a job.
This, to me, is the home run, McNeney said.
Negotiations with the Southwest/Bethel team are set to begin Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2013.
