The Official Community Plan for the District of Squamish passed third reading at council on Tuesday evening (April 17), bringing the overarching document a significant step toward final approval.
Councillors had two options: pass the document "as is" and vote to discuss changes at a later date, or refuse to adopt the draft until changes were voted on.
Councillors agreed to pass the OCP, then vote on having a discussion on two separate changes:
Change 1) remove the 25,000-population threshold on certain properties that was part of the growth management policy in the OCP.
Change 2) better define the “brand asset” precursor in the document.
Two councillors wanted to discuss these changes, but they were voted down.
“We’re at a moment of unprecedented development pressure,” said Coun. Doug Race, who voted to approve the document without changes. “If we’re going to manage that successfully, then we need very robust tools. Staff has come up with this idea of a growth management policy, and I think it’s very appropriate,” he said.
Race warned that removing development limits to increase the supply of housing would not lower prices — as suggested by some at the public hearing — because developers are strategic about the time lines of projects.
Coun. Jason Blackman-Wulff added that council needed to finalize the document to avoid the summer slow-down.
“We need to have the courage to wrap it up,” he said.
The current draft policy only allows residential building on certain areas if the population of Squamish reaches 22,500, and includes conditions that need to be met such as the District finalizing their wildfire plan and intensification of “brand assets.”
After the document passed, Councillors Susan Chapelle and Ted Prior put forward motions that would allow the council to discuss the removal of the population threshold and “better define” the brand assets condition.
Both motions failed to pass, meaning the draft document will now go to the SLRD for approval before returning to council.
Coun. Karen Elliott noted that even with a restrictive OCP finalized, any developer with a worthy project could still ask council for a case-by-case exemption.
The draft OCP has been in the approval process since December.
Close to 200 people attended both of the evening public hearings that took place on March 12 and 13, raising concerns about affordability and the pace of development in the community.
The major changes suggested at the public hearing — including changes to the growth management policy that would allow more development — won’t change in the document approved Tuesday night.
A large number of residents recommended that the Cheema lands be opened up for immediate development. A request was also made to include 1100 Bailey Street in the development boundaries.
Landowner Bob Cheema has signed a memorandum of understanding with both the Waldorf School and SORCA to partner on his vision for the land.
The family’s 400-acre area north of the Garibaldi Highlands has become a focus of the OCP discussion because it is not included in the area slated for immediate development.
Chapelle said the area shouldn’t be labeled the “Cheema lands” but considered gravel bench-lands that are safe and well suited to residential building. “To respect that public input, I think we should go to another meeting,” she said.
