Let’s get it right

March 2022: One Last Chance to Save Nita Lake!

As reported by the Pique, the RMOW has been forced to take a step back and reopen public debate on this controversial development. Last year, Council received nearly 300 letters in opposition to these lakefront townhomes and less than 20 in support; nonetheless, our elected representatives chose to push forward with this proposal, despite the clear evidence that it does not enjoy the support of the community.

Now is our chance to remind Council that our voices matter!

If you previously wrote a letter against this rezoning, thank you. If you are just now learning about this issue for the first, time, we hope you’ll read the background material and agree that this rezoning is a bad deal for Whistler. In either case, please stay tuned for further news and be ready to make your voices heard; it is only through our persistence and united efforts that we can give Nita Lake one last chance!

Update on the so-called “WHA Parcel”: Through a Freedom of Information request, the Friends of Nita Lake have obtained emails (available here) between RMOW staff and the developer related to the parcel of land being transferred to the municipality and dedicated—or so we’ve been told—for the future development of WHA units. These emails reveal that detailed plans were prepared for presentation to Council and the public, but that they were deliberately concealed in order to limit public controversy and debate. Another reason these plans were prepared was to allay the reasonable worries of Council that this parcel of land was not in fact suitable for the construction of affordable housing, given the difficult qualities and poor location of the parcel. Worst of all, an email from former General Manager Jan Jansen confirms that the RMOW has actually considered not building WHA housing on this site at all, but instead would “flip” the parcel for cash and rezone it for tourist accommodation:

"Also, in speaking with Michael [Hutchison, the developer and former Chair of the WHA] I floated the idea that if we chose not to develop the WHA housing lot in future and, alternatively rezoned it as a market TA lot and flipped it and put those proceeds in an employee housing fund (WHA), his reaction was he would have no problem with that . I told him we would write that into the covenant but not thinking of making it public at this time unless challenged at the upcoming Council meeting around the viability of developing the housing site. This will please Duane [Jackson, Councillor] and contributes to solving some funding challenges WDC is having.”

Throughout this process, the public has always been told that this parcel for future WHA housing is one of the great benefits of this rezoning. It is one of the main “amenities” that is being traded for an unbelievable increase in tourist accommodation density on this lakefront property. What else has the RMOW concealed from the public? Who truly benefits from this rezoning?