The proposed placement of temporary modular housing for homeless residents in X̱wún̓eḵw Park at 37956 Loggers Lane, is drawing opposition from local business owners and the Squamish Joint Engagement Committee. They say the site selection process hasn’t been transparent enough, and they are worried about the potential impact on Downtown Squamish.
BC Housing says the province and the District of Squamish announced their partnership to address homelessness through the HEART and HEARTH programs in February 2026. BC Housing said it is working closely with the District to assess 37956 Loggers Lane for viability as a suitable location for new temporary transitional housing with coordinated supports.
“If this location is deemed suitable, BC Housing and the District will engage with the community to share information about the project, answer questions and collect feedback on how to best integrate the housing into the neighbourhood,” the statement said.
The area, which is currently closed for construction of an $18 million dike renewal project, is located across from Junction Park and next to the under-construction pedestrian bridge across the Mamquam Blind Channel.
BC Housing said it’s currently working closely with the District of Squamish to determine the park’s suitability as a location for the temporary transitional housing project. The project is part of the HEARTH program, and was announced in partnership with the District of Squamish in February 2026. No final decision has been made, it says.
But for business owners operating close to the proposed site, the uncertainty has already arrived.
Matthew Upton, co-owner of The Broken Seal, one of the closest businesses to the proposed location, said he supports the HEARTH program in principle but is worried the park location could end the business he and his partner have built.
“We’ve lived in a construction zone for a year and a half,” Upton said. “We put all of our life savings into this, thinking that once the bridge is operational and this park is all done, things are finally going to pick up. And then all of a sudden it feels like it’s going to get ripped out from underneath us.
Upton said the business had been counting on foot traffic from the SEA & SKY neighbourhood from the soon-to-be-completed pedestrian bridge over Blind Channel. If the housing project proceeds at that location, he said, customers may simply choose to avoid the area.
“In one and a half years, we may close,” he said. “And that’s not fair on a local business which pays back to the community.”
Upton said other HEARTH sites across the province were located outside downtown areas, with transit links to services rather than placement in the heart of a commercial district, and this should be considered for Squamish.
His main criticism was directed at the process. Upton said neither he nor other nearby businesses received any outreach from the District before the X̱wún̓eḵw Park site was put forward.
“The District never reached out to us, never reached out to ask for our opinions,” he said. “It is very disheartening when there is communication saying we have reached out to stakeholders, but they did not reach out to stakeholders, because we would have been reached out to if that was the case.”
He said that when he and others approached the District directly, he was told that public consultation would not take place until after the site was confirmed. That sequencing, he said, is where much of the community anger has concentrated.
“Being told that we are going to confirm the site and then address all of your concerns is an unacceptable way of doing it,” Upton said.
Jake Mathauser, owner of Anna’s Interiors, also criticized the project. Mathauser said the park location made no sense for a downtown already struggling with visible homelessness and its associated pressures on local businesses.
“We have a hard enough time just keeping our doors open when there is hardly anybody out on the street,” Mathauser said. “We have just spent so much beautifying this area, and to throw this at the merchants down here, for one, let alone the residents and the restaurants.”
Mathauser said the proposal felt especially poorly timed given that the new pedestrian bridge over Blind Channel had not yet opened. “The bridge is not even open yet, and as soon as it is open, we are going to have this right there,” he said.
The concerns being raised by individual business owners have also been formalized in a joint letter to Mayor and Council, signed by the executive directors of the Downtown Squamish Business Improvement Association, the Squamish Chamber of Commerce, and Tourism Squamish, on behalf of the Squamish Joint Engagement Committee.
The April 16 letter describes X̱wún̓eḵw Park as a key waterfront destination currently undergoing a major transformation supported by significant public investment, and says the project was funded, designed, and promoted as a long-term community and waterfront destination and presented to the public as both climate infrastructure and a permanent public amenity.
The organizations say they have been strong advocates for the HEARTH program itself, but that the absence of public engagement before a site decision is inconsistent with the scale of what is being proposed. “To date, no public engagement has taken place, which is not consistent with the level of transparency expected for a decision of this magnitude,” the letter states.
The letter acknowledges that existing zoning permits supportive housing at the location, meaning no rezoning or formal public hearing is legally required. But it argues that the absence of a statutory obligation does not reduce the responsibility to consult.
“The absence of a statutory requirement for rezoning or formal public consultation does not diminish the importance, or the responsibility of meaningfully engaging the community on decisions of this scale and significance,” it reads.
BC Housing said identifying a suitable location for social housing is complex and based on a variety of factors, including working with municipalities on their recommended location options and evaluating a site’s access to services such as health care and transportation. More information, including specific engagement plans and project timelines, would be made public once site suitability has been determined, it added.
A community petition opposing the proposed location has gathered 964 signatures so far. The petition also does not expressly oppose the HEARTH program, but questions the site selection and the lack of consultation.
Upton said he plans to attend every council meeting and raise the issue during the open question period until firmer answers are provided.
“I have a heart,” he said. “I do want this. I am just tired of not having anybody listening to us.”
