Dear Mayor and Council,
This is an open letter to the public. There are a number of issues caused by imposed housing growth that I feel are important for the general public to be openly informed about and openly discussed.
Certainly a concern of Squamish residents and taxpayers is how Mayor, Council and Planning have dealt with parking variances over the last 10+ years. Please give us a detailed and public report of parking variance transactions over the last 10 years, including: date, developer, project name, planner, total parking spaces assigned, total cost ($35,000 to $50,000 per space), parking space variance granted, the reason for variance given, the amount of the shortfall, what benefit is given to the community by the developer for this variance both in dollar value and otherwise, and what is the 10 year total value of parking variances given.
Further, with Mayor, Council and staff’s accumulated actions over the past years, we, the community citizens, are victimized by a shortage of parking spaces. Development construction workers are taking over parking in and around their project sites. Given this, there should be an immediate prohibition on any development workers parking on any public streets. The developers and contractors can arrange a suitable shuttle for their workers.
As parking variances affect all of us, the community, I would like to see decisions on parking variances involve a citizen advisory committee that has meaningful input into every parking variance decision, and that if parking variances are given, the developer is required to give back to the community.
Squamish is a very active community. Therefore funding for civic infrastructure like roads, water, parks and libraries is important, especially when all of these are facing ever increasing pressure from the imposed housing increase. Even before this imposed housing increase, we were faced with a shortfall of vital recreation amenities. Roads throughout our community are in need of repair. I think there needs to be an open and frank community discussion about the current ACC. It’s important that community user groups are actively included and that the provincial government be at the table with more funding, since their imposed housing is a factor in the increased need.
On another note, I understand the provincial government has imposed that 1400 housing units be completed in Squamish over four years. This growth will further add to the ‘bedroom community’ aspect, meaning more people commuting to Whistler, to Vancouver and to the Lower Mainland. As this is a provincial government edict, the provincial government should immediately undertake a detailed and all inclusive audit of those who commute from and to Squamish: where they live in Squamish; what specific areas they commute to (Whistler, the North Shore, Vancouver, Richmond, Surrey, New Westminster, Lower Mainland); the hour range they commute to work; and the hour range they return from work.
From this, ask them what transit needs they require to be both functional and appealing, and what hinders them currently from using transit. Then the provincial government commit to build the transit network to accomplish this within four years. The provincial government dictate to TransLink that they provide the transit infrastructure to the North Shore to make the above work, including timely local transit to adequate connections to Squamish, Whistler and Pemberton. It should be acknowledged that Squamish has been victimized for two plus decades of higher gas prices (often at higher prices than the Lower Mainland) and that raising gas prices should not be a factor in improving suitable transit increases.
Since getting cars off the roads means establishing a significant number of permanent, full time career paying jobs, the provincial government should deem Squamish as a targeted economic development area, canvassing our community to determine the scope of the skilled talent base living in Squamish and basing economic development on this scope of talent.
Regards,
Bob Brant
Bob Brant has lived in Squamish since 1979, co-founded the Squamish Trails Society, served as its president for 19 years and was named Squamish Citizen of the Year in 2003.
