Developer wants up to 1,000 residents
Kim Thompson
Province
A developer has applied for preliminary rezoning of 10 lots in the Soo Valley, north of Whistler. BONNY MAKAREWICZ — FOR THE PROVINCE
PEMBERTON — A stretch of the Lower Soo Valley between Whistler and Pemberton is poised to become the Sea-to-Sky corridor’s newest family-friendly — and mortgage-friendly — community.
That’s if the company proposing to move an eventual 1,000 residents into the strip gets its way.
Delta Land Development, a Vancouver-based company that owns 200 hectares in the valley, has applied for preliminary rezoning of 10 lots. But they’re just the first 10 in a very big housing dream, says company president Bruce Langereis.
“People need something more affordable than Whistler,” Langereis told The Province.
“The area would also serve as an alternative to Pemberton or Squamish, in terms of driving distance.”
“Affordable housing is the No. 1 issue in the Sea-to-Sky corridor, and I think Whistler has become out of touch for the local area,” Langereis said.
“We want to bring people back to the community.”
Langereis describes the proposed site as land that has been logged in the past and says the eventual development would include large open areas of preserve.
The development would not be visible from Highway 99, he said.
“According to our research, the area has no issues with flooding, slumps, avalanches or fire safety, unlike other communities,” he added.
The 10-lot application has been referred to the regional district for comment.
District administrator Paul Edgington says he’s not sure the proposal fits into the existing Official Community Plan.
“The 10-lot subdivision may be consistent with current zoning bylaws, but there has been discussion of a greater-density project,” Edgington said.
With pockets of potential development all over the regional district, Edgington says that completing the regional-growth strategy now under way has become critical.
Edgington expects the work to be completed in 2006 and says it will help in assessing development proposals in places like the Lower Soo Valley.
“I would prefer to see the outcome of the regional-growth strategy before jumping into a large development,” he noted.
Some in the community are also less than thrilled.
A Whistler group is lobbying to protect 7,000 hectares of wilderness in the upper Soo Valley, arguing it is home to moose and has value as a grizzly migration corridor.
© The Vancouver Province 2005
