To review the information presented at the June 16 public meeting and provide comments, please view the panels and the comments sheet. 

One of the major projects for the District of Squamish under the Service Squamish Initiative is to update the Zoning Bylaw.  I am pleased to report that the project is well underway with the support of two urban planning consultants that have been engaged for this project.  Brook and Associates Inc., responsible for consultation activities, initiated the project on April 26, 2010 with a “Staff Issues Identification Workshop” where staff identified key themes of the zoning bylaw that required review.  Additionally, a Working Group comprised of key external users of the bylaw has been formed.  The first meeting of the Working Group was held on May 6, at which time they reviewed staff’s feedback and provided additional input on a number of key issues that the review should address.  A summary report of the consultation activities and key issues that have been identified to date was presented to the Committee of the Whole on May 25.

Using the consultation summary report to focus the technical review, Halcrow Consulting Inc., the consultant responsible for the technical review, initiated their work.  The group has hosted two staff working sessions to discuss specific technical issues that have been identified, (for example: clarifying how building height is measured and clearly articulating what a specific land use zone is intended to permit).  An update on their findings will be presented to the Working Group in the middle of June for discussion and the final summary of their results is expected to be ready for presentation to the Committee of the Whole prior to the August break.

The goal of this project is to achieve a zoning bylaw that can be easily and unilaterally interpreted by its users and better understood by Council, residents, businesses and the development community.  Feedback from District residents is important and I encourage you to contact Dava Gustason, Planning Clerk with the District of Squamish.

Greg Gardner
Mayor
District of Squamish

 Click here to link to current Zoning Bylaw