The Squamish-Lillooet Regional District (SLRD) is taking steps to enter the next phase of the process to solve the dispute over the draft Regional Growth Strategy (RGS), as the planning document has remained in limbo since the District of Squamish rejected it in November 2008.

At Monday’s (Jan. 25) regular board meeting, SLRD directors voted to endorse a timeline for a dispute process of “final proposal arbitration,” which is the binding settlement process they chose to reach an agreement on the RGS. The board also endorsed potential choices for a preferred arbitrator and backup, selected from an approved list established by the B.C. Ministry of Community Development.

The District of Squamish needs to agree to a process by March 9, and agreement would be followed by a 28-day period to choose an arbitrator.

Last fall, regional leaders were working through a non-binding dispute resolution process to address the concerns raised about the document by Squamish officials. The SLRD board, however, voted in October to end that process and enter “final proposal arbitration by a single arbitrator,” followed by a resolution to end the non-binding process. The District of Squamish ended that process in December.

Squamish officials have objected to the draft RGS “because it impedes on decision-making authority of incorporated municipalities,” according to a Sept. 24 report from Squamish Chief Administrative Officer Kevin Ramsay.

Mayor Greg Gardner has said Squamish’s leaders want a strong RGS, but their concerns are about a governance issue. Namely, they feel that under the document a proposal inconsistent with a member municipality’s Official Community Plan would necessitate an amendment to the RGS with unanimous consent of all member municipalities and adjacent regional districts.

A Jan. 11 letter signed by Susie Gimse, the board’s vice chair and director of Electoral Area C, said that discussions in the earlier non-binding dispute resolution process helped bring the parties “very close” to achieving an agreement to resolve Squamish’s concerns. Squamish and the SLRD board have both presented suggested solutions for the elements of perceived prescriptive language.

The letter, addressed to Bill Bennett, B.C.’s minister of community and rural development, states that “it became apparent that full consensus was unlikely,” and that if they made changes to the RGS to address Squamish’s concerns, “it was quite possible that at least one of the affected local governments would refuse to accept the amendment.”

Also, the letter said, it seemed that the only way to end the non-binding process after reaching an agreement was to amend the RGS and reopen it for a new period of 120 days for affected parties to offer comments on the document.

“All parties involved believed this would be counter productive as any future referrals and deliberations would not be limited to the matters under dispute. None of the participants wanted the entire RGS to potentially be reopened at this stage,” the letter said.

Under the Province’s rules for regional growth strategies, final proposal arbitration involves the arbitrator considering only written submissions by the participating parties, with no meetings with any of them or any other people, and choosing one of the specific proposals presented by the parties to address each of the outstanding issues.

The RGS provisions will then stand as settled by the arbitrator after the final proposals are incorporated into the document, and the arbitrator will not provide written reasons for the decision. However, the timeline for the process also includes a 60-day “cooling off period” that follows the arbitrator’s decision, during which the parties could reach an alternative agreement.

SLRD Community Planner Lisa Griffith on Tuesday (Jan. 26) said the parties had been “getting very close” in their discussions, and the issues seem to have been narrowed down to the wording of certain sentences within the land-use section of the RGS.

The parties’ proposals “could end up coming in really close,” Griffith said. “We gained a lot of ground through non-binding.”

In October, when the board passed the resolution to support a proposal for amended language and end the non-binding dispute resolution process, Whistler Mayor Ken Melamed offered a dissenting vote, saying he was speaking as an SLRD director to indicate that he couldn’t support “any weakening of the language” in the RGS.

On Monday, Melamed said Whistler officials want to be involved in the upcoming settlement process. The Village of Pemberton has resolved to participate, while the District of Lillooet wants to stay out, according to an SLRD staff report.

“I know that we want to participate,” he said.

Griffith said Squamish and Whistler officials have been having conversations to try to reach wording that would work for the RMOW.

Sunstone questions raised

In reviewing a proposed set of terms of reference with a consultation method and timeline for considering the Sunstone Ridge neighbourhood concept plan and rezoning application, SLRD directors raised a number of questions about the huge development proposal.

The landowners and agents for the approximately 400-hectare parcel of land about three kilometres east of Pemberton are crafting plans and analyzing options to create a comprehensive vision for the major new mixed-use neighbourhood proposed for the property. The Lil’wat Nation, Ravens Crest Developments and the Biro/Sabre Group are the landowners working together as the Sunstone Ridge Group.

Melamed said he has many unanswered questions about how the project fits with the principles and development plans articulated by the SLRD board. He said he would want to see included in any terms of reference for the project.

Among his questions, he and other directors raised issues of how the development would fit with the demand for housing in the community, what is the expected timing for the development, how the project does or does not adhere to Smart Growth principles, and how it could be impacted by the Village of Pemberton’s proposed boundary extension. If the extension proposal is approved, the lands would become part of Pemberton.

The board voted to refer the issue back to staff to come up with terms establishing criteria of analysis for the proposal, and to do a preliminary review to advise how the development fits into growth plans for the area.

The projected timeline presented to the board proposed steps in a year of work, including reviews of detailed reports and plans and more public comment opportunities before reaching possible adoption in December.

A Jan. 18 open house hosted by the proponents and the SLRD drew about 20 people, who posed questions about elements such as the preservation or replacement of trails in the area, the housing forms, the vision for who would live in the development and job creation for the future, and the time frame for construction.

Long-serving staff honoured

At Monday’s meeting, the board recognized Corinne Oberson, the SLRD’s finance revenue clerk, for her 30 years of service to the regional district, and Director of Planning and Development Steven Olmstead for his 10 years of service.

“You’ve done a wonderful job for us for 30 years. I don’t know how you did it,” SLRD board chair Russ Oakley said to a visibly moved Oberson, as he presented her and then Olmstead with certificates of achievement.