EDITOR,
I give kudos to Jim Harvey for sharing his concerns and fears with us in his letter, Oceanfront development plan sparks scepticism, published in the Friday, Dec. 31 edition of your paper. They are well stated, legitimate concerns and fears which are shared by me and many other members of this community.
The justification and rationale offered by the SODC that "developing a community feature that facilitates access to nature and celebrates our outdoor recreation and stimulates economic growth through increased tourism and development of knowledge-based industries" is a well-intentioned mantra often repeated in regards to capitalizing upon our Oceanfront opportunity.
It could just as easily be applied to the bigger opportunity we have with Garibaldi at Squamish. It is my understanding that the proponents of this project indeed have the support and backing of private-sector investment required to fund their plans, something the SODC and the DOS clearly do not.
Working with these proponents to realize the single biggest investment in our future available to us, rather than against them, would go a long way towards achieving our ambitions with the waterfront lands and our downtown core revitalization hopes. Putting aside for a moment the effect hundreds of millions of dollars to both the local economy and DOS tax base, it should be noted that the 15- to 20-year buildout timeline for GAS will provide a source of reasonably stable and continued economic and developmental growth that will be sought by potential investors of any eventual Oceanfront development plans.
GAS has already attracted world-class partners to their venture such as all-season resort planners Jack Johnson Co. and brownfield redevelopment expert David Negrin, partially responsible for making False Creek in Vancouver what it is today from the industrial wastelands they were in the 1980s. Having these experts actively involved in our local economy to the north can only serve to benefit our Oceanfront dreams to the south.
Striving to realize both opportunities rather than pit one against the other is a viable path to enabling Squamish to become a true one-of-a-kind, world-class destination. Tourism dollars can be the basis upon which we create a sustainable, vibrant and varied economy, in effect fostering a stronger community across all sectors.
Without the huge cash injection into our town that GAS currently offers and the Oceanfront is currently missing (but could eventually attract), we will be just another small bedroom community struggling to borrow enough just to maintain aging infrastructure, never mind sculpt our future directions into something unique and healthy.
Richard Tripp
Squamish
