The District of Squamish Council will discuss an application for potential housing development on the Cheema Lands—two parcels of land in Garibaldi Highlands, officially known as District Lots 509 and 510. The application has been rejected three times because it lies outside the town’s current Growth Management Boundary (GMB).
The application proposes to change the land use designation from “Future Residential Neighbourhood” to “Residential Neighbourhood,” and bring it within the boundary.
Staff suggest reviewing a scaled-down version, though this review might take two years. This review would be on a smaller portion of the land—specifically the area closest to existing infrastructure and services. The council’s direction will determine whether the application proceeds to a detailed technical review and whether that review should consider a reduced development footprint.
“The current application, in its full scope, has limited alignment with OCP policies,” the staff report notes. “However, there may be stronger alignment with a reduced land area focused on near-term technical analysis.”
This is the fourth application involving the Cheema Lands since 2017, with previous proposals defeated by Council. Under existing policy, the OCP discourages expanding the GMB until most infill development—growth within existing neighbourhoods—is completed. New projections show that Squamish’s infill capacity is higher than previously estimated, with enough land under development to support a population of over 51,000.
The OCP does allow for early consideration of GMB expansion if certain criteria are met. Staff say these conditions—such as a population threshold, environmental assessments, and supporting policy work—are now mostly in place or underway. Staff also highlight potential benefits to initiating a review, including boosting the supply of ground-oriented housing, coordinating planning with neighbouring greenfield areas like Newport Ridge, and enabling development of a long-designated school site next to the Cheema Lands.
“Given that the District currently has development applications for two significant neighbouring greenfield properties (Newport Ridge and DL 509/510), there are potential environmental benefits from evaluating both applications in a holistic manner where habitat connectivity and integrity can be considered in tandem,” the staff report notes.
However, the report cautions that expanding infrastructure to service these lands earlier than planned could lead to significant upfront costs. If the Council agrees, staff will prepare a detailed work plan and return with a full review process. A separate application would still be required for any future development and would involve the creation of a sub-area plan and public consultation.
Francine Lessard says
I wish Cheema the best of luck on this new application in light of their generosity of giving land for trails, park and a new school.
It make sense to incorporate this extra land into OCP by either using a variance if at all possible.
The community needs to expand outside of downtown and other infill is proving to put more stress on local residents in older established neighborhoods.