This letter was sent to District of Squamish council and copied to The Chief for publication.
This letter is with regard to the proposed Oceanfront hotel in our community. I would like the council to imagine the future of Squamish.
Currently, the Oceanfront is a well utilized space, of special benefit to locals and a hub for the arts. It boasts views that are a constant affirmation of why we live here.
The park is our greatest draw, the reason why visitors leave the highway to stop in our town.
Everyone loves to pause for a moment to empower themselves with the best views of the Squamish Chief. Festivals and arts events thrive here next to the largest granite monolith in the world.
Our community benefits from the millions of dollars in revenue and the local jobs that have been created.
Now picture a different future: our park now has a hotel (which eventually is resold as luxury condos) plunked down right in the middle of the waterfront.
This development blocks the flow of traffic and the views. Events will be necessarily limited due to the elephant in the room.
People will come and drive away thinking: "Nice spot, too bad about the placement of the high rise."
The development finishes any hope Squamish has of becoming a legendary stopping place.
This is the time for our council to show real vision and leadership for our future by giving us what we have specifically asked for. We need a park with uninterrupted views of the Chief from end to end.
This is an opportunity for our council to create a legacy, to show how much they care about the future of our community and not to cave to the lure of easy money.
Developers must build according to our vision of the area, not the other way round. We want a community that reflects our values and revolves around spaces that inspire our minds and hearts.
I leave the council with a quote from the Creativity Index:
"The key to economic growth lies not just in the ability to attract the creative class, but to translate that underlying advantage into creative economic outcomes in the form of new ideas, new high tech businesses and regional growth."
~Richard Florida
Martin Vseticka
Squamish
