Cameron Bell, a semi retired mining exploration geologist who lives in Furry Creek, is running for SLRD Area D director on a five point platform built around responsible development, tax fairness and emergency preparedness, according to a statement submitted to the Squamish Reporter.
Bell has lived in Furry Creek for two years and in British Columbia for more than ten. The statement says he managed mining exploration projects with annual budgets above $50 million, served on the board of a 9,000 member industry association and on the boards of two publicly listed companies, and has worked on project permitting and First Nations relations.
Bell is the second candidate to announce for the Area D seat. Paula de Jong, the current alternate director, announced her candidacy earlier this month.
Area D stretches from the Upper Squamish Valley to Porteau Cove and includes the Squamish Valley, Paradise Valley, Britannia Beach, Furry Creek and Pinecrest.
On development, Bell says infrastructure must keep pace with new projects, naming water, fire protection, roads and transit. He proposes time limits on zoning approvals, such as sunset clauses or a supplementary tax on rezoned but undeveloped land, to give municipal planners predictable timelines. He points to Furry Creek, where he says zoning was approved years ago and nothing has started.
He also questions the Britannia surf park project, saying local support was for the whole project including the regional park, trails and housing, and warning against a scenario where the surf park is built and the rest is delayed indefinitely. He says the developer is only required to set aside land in Phase 2 with no responsibility for construction costs, leaving taxpayers to fund it.
On taxes, Bell commits to finding efficiencies and asks whether Area D taxpayers are getting a fair deal. He wants the SLRD to press the province to expand property tax deferral options for seniors and to examine how tax revenue from companies operating in the region is shared.
Much of his tax argument centers on Woodfibre LNG. He backs retiring director Tony Rainbow’s proposal for a committee to meet with Squamish council on sharing Woodfibre property taxes with Britannia and Furry Creek. If that fails, he says he would launch a petition asking the province to intervene, including by adjusting municipal boundaries. Council rejected a proposed ten year, $142 million financial arrangement with Woodfibre LNG in a 5 to 2 vote on Sept. 22.
Bell also urges residents and the SLRD to push for an air quality monitoring station in Britannia as a condition of Woodfibre LNG’s air quality permit, with fines and operational restrictions if provincial thresholds are exceeded or flaring passes an agreed limit.
On emergency preparedness, he calls for better communication with Area D residents on fire, landslide and highway closure readiness, gates in the barriers on divided sections of Highway 99 to allow limited traffic flow after serious accidents or disasters, better weekend coverage by provincial emergency services, and a plan to use passenger ferries to move residents if a landslide blocks the highway.
On transit, Bell says he supports a public bus system connecting Whistler, Squamish and Horseshoe Bay, and suggests Woodfibre LNG property taxes could help fund regional transit without raising property taxes.
He closes with low cost recreation ideas, including a bike or walking trail between Furry Creek and Britannia. “Trails don’t cost millions of dollars,” the statement says. “Let’s map out trails and get the permissions and approvals to build them.”
General voting day is Oct. 17, with advance voting days on Oct. 7, 8, 10 and 15.
