Thanks to a procedural error, a public hearing will again be held for the controversial development on the west side of Nita Lake (5298 Alta Lake Road); to my mind, however, the even bigger error was council moving forward with this project in the first place—voted the Third Worst Decision by Council of 2021 by readers of Pique. Now our elected officials have an opportunity to reassess the numerous flaws and relative benefits of this proposal, and Whistler residents are once more invited to share their views on a development that will irreversibly transform the character and appearance of Nita Lake.
Last time nearly 250 individuals wrote to council in opposition to this development and fewer than two dozen in support; its opponents came from all over Whistler and even included people on the Whistler Housing Authority (WHA) waitlist. Employee housing is the main ostensible benefit to Whistler from this development (20 WHA units in exchange for 22 market and tourist accommodation townhomes), but serious concerns remain about the affordability of these units and whether they will be within reach of many Whistler employees. Other issues remain or have even escalated over the past year: the additional traffic burden on local streets and Alta Lake Road has always been a worry, but traffic in Whistler has only gotten worse. School District 48 has now indicated that the extra bed units will have an impact on Whistler’s classrooms. Council and staff have still never properly answered criticisms about apparent conflicts-of-interest regarding this applicant, who was still chair of the WHA while developing this incredibly profitable business opportunity.
The amount of clearcut and tree loss on one of Whistler’s last undeveloped lakeshores does not seem to be consistent with the values of our community.
I encourage my fellow residents to review these and other concerns raised at last year’s public hearing and summarized at nitalake.ca. This is our final chance to remind council that this rezoning does not enjoy the support of the community; the public hearing is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 6 via Zoom.
