Not only did Councillor Ralph Forsyth change his mind and alter his vote on Whistler’s long-considered infill housing initiative, he said he’s planning to include infill housing among his platform promises in the next local election.

On July 20, proposed bylaws that would have allowed for an infill housing pilot project in the Alpine South neighbourhood were defeated in a tie vote. At the time, Forsyth voted against the bylaw, saying he’d like to see an open-market component to the infill-housing plan and allow property owners throughout Whistler the opportunity to pursue infill.

But at the Aug. 17 council meeting, Mayor Ken Melamed brought the bylaws back to the council table and another vote took place. This time, the bylaws were given third reading in a 4-3 vote after Forsyth changed his mind.

On Monday (Aug. 23), Forsyth said he changed his vote after looking through his old election campaign material and seeing that infill housing was one of his previous promises.

“I’ll remain optimistic and hope that there will be market opportunities for it,” he said. “For me, infill housing is a bridge to market.”

Under current plans, any new houses or duplexes built under the infill provisions will be price restricted with the Whistler Housing Authority. Forsyth said allowing people to split their lots and build a smaller home could help some people get into market housing when they might not otherwise be able to.

Forsyth said he’s planning to include infill housing with a market component to it on his literature for the next election campaign.

Infill housing is the concept of adding housing units into existing neighbourhoods, increasing density instead of developing new areas. For now, the bylaw allows lot splits, duplexes on existing single-family lots or additional suites outside main homes in Alpine South.

Opponents of the initiative have suggested that with all the employee-restricted housing on the market in Whistler, there will be little or no uptake for the pilot project in Alpine. Melamed said on Tuesday (Aug. 24) that if there is little interest, the infill housing initiative likely wouldn’t go any further than the pilot project.

But at least one longtime local family was pleased by the results of council’s second vote and is considering a lot split. Dary Hemmons and his family have lived in Alpine since the 1980s and they currently live in a small, fully renovated cabin, he said. They don’t want to tear down the cabin, but they’d also like to build a new, bigger house, he said, so a lot split would be ideal.

Hemmons said infill housing certainly isn’t for everyone and it’s not the “end all” — but it offers another option for people who might prefer a specific neighbourhood or those who would rather not move to one of the new employee-restricted subdivisions. He said he knows of a few young families who’ve moved to Squamish or Pemberton and are “excited” about the choices offered by infill housing and what could be an opportunity to possibly move back to Whistler.

“It’s going to keep people living in this town,” Hemmons said.

The pilot project is a good idea to address any issues with infill housing that may come up before implementing infill throughout Whistler, he added.

Melamed said those interested in taking part in the pilot project should contact the municipal planning department. Though development permits can’t be issued until the infill housing bylaws are adopted, it’s not too soon to bring in plans and start the review process, he added.