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missedyno
Sep 29, 2004, 6:40 PM
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In reply to: There will be a council meeting on September 28th at 7:00pm, where the developer will make their presentation. I'm taking the night off work to be there, and I'm hoping there will be a tough crowd to send these clowns back to Whistler with their tails between their legs. I called the district office, and they confirmed that it will be held at Brennan Park Leisure Centre rather than council chambers, I guess due to heavy interest in this issue. Please show up too, if you care about the Chief.
How did it go?
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bubba
Sep 29, 2004, 6:52 PM
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From Squamishclimbing.com:
Council voted to possibly allow further discussion of a gondola in the area (which could still include the park) but not to the top of any of the Chief's 3 summits. This echoed the sentiments of the Squamish First Nations group who saw the proponents proposal before it went to council.
Overall it was a pretty quick meeting - all said and done in just under an hour.
Also:
http://vancouver.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?filename=bc_chief20040929
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squish
Sep 29, 2004, 7:12 PM
Post #53 of 63
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In reply to: How did it go?
Quite well. There was a fairly good crowd. The gym wasn't over-packed, but all the chairs were filled, at least. Here's some highlights:
A representative of BC Parks was there, and explained the history of the park and the current management plan, as well as the process of possibly changing the plan to allow mechanized construction therein. This meeting, he pointed out, is merely a first step to see if the idea should be pursued any further.
The proponent made their presentation, and showed how well they actually recognize the local geography. One of them repeatedly referred to the mountain as the "Chieftain," which is actually a bar/hotel in downtown Squamish (we all think it's run by the H-A's). A question came from council asking whether they'd considered a more sensitive line, by perhaps running the gondola towards Goat Ridge. The answer was "and Goat Ridge is... where exactly?" Haha, well, that answered that question. They also talked about having spoken with the Squamish First Nations and that they "weren't exactly jumping up and down at the idea, but left the door open to discussion." Councillor Corinne Lonsdale, our former mayor, later asked a pointed question saying that she heard that the Nation had "shut the door" on them regarding The Chief. (This question came after another councillor was reminded that the meeting was about the District's input, and not the Squamish Nation; they have their own separate process. Councillor Lonsdale pointed out that the Squamish Nation are one of our constituents, and that this was feedback she had received from them.) The proponent was backed into admitting that they had "left the door open, but that they said definitely not on the Chief." This was received by loud cheers from the audience.
In the end, the council was given three options, one being that they approve of the plan, second being that they reject a gondola in the area, and third that they would approve a plan, but not on The Chief.
They voted "not on The Chief," which was well received by the audience. It still leaves the door open to gondola development quite nearby, as they briefly mentioned a second idea to run the line between Shannon Falls and Stawamus Chief parks. But, effectively, we've sent them back to the drawing board, for them to determine if the new plan would be feasible, and start with a whole new approval process. At least, that's how it seemed to me.
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slabbyd
Sep 29, 2004, 7:51 PM
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Between the Chief and the Shannon Falls, is forest and broken bluffs leading the logged out valley below Habrich and Sky Pilot. So... you wouldn't be able to see Shannon Falls, the backside of the chief looks like a forest covered wart and a clear cut valley has never rated high on the tourist attraction scale. Basically there would be an ok view of Howe Sound and the highway. Sounds like a loosing venture to me.
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fiend
Sep 29, 2004, 7:56 PM
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Those who have spoken with the proponents of the Gondola have said that they knew that they weren't going to get the Chief as a site but it helped them get the proposal out there and sift through a lot of the initial BS and reaction to a gondola at all.
The problem is still the amendment of the Forest Service Plan to allowe mechanized transport in a Class A park. It's good that it won't be on the Chief but still bad that it will be anywhere else in the park.
I think far too many people went home from the meeting last night thinking that this was all over. There are still problems with a gondola being run anywhere in that area.
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slabbyd
Sep 29, 2004, 8:05 PM
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I find it hard to believe that any other location in that area would have the pull to make it economically viable. So so far the Squamish City Council and the First Nations have said no to the Chief. Aren't there two more stakeholders? The Olympic Committee and who else? Do you think they'll say no go? I doubt it.
I would bet they continue to focus on the Chief. The fight probably hasn't even begun.
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squish
Sep 29, 2004, 8:33 PM
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In reply to: Those who have spoken with the proponents of the Gondola have said that they knew that they weren't going to get the Chief as a site but it helped them get the proposal out there and sift through a lot of the initial BS and reaction to a gondola at all.
You mean we were trolled? It's probably true to some extent--part of the aim high strategy, and all that. Although if that's the case, they didn't present themselves as very knowledgeable or sensitive to the local area.
In reply to: The problem is still the amendment of the Forest Service Plan to allowe mechanized transport in a Class A park. It's good that it won't be on the Chief but still bad that it will be anywhere else in the park. I think far too many people went home from the meeting last night thinking that this was all over. There are still problems with a gondola being run anywhere in that area.
Yeah, I'm not too sure what this means. It could mean that an alternate plan might not be feasible for them, and that would be the end of it; or else they were counting on this decision all along. It doesn't seem like it, though. They weren't prepared with anything to indicate that they even researched any other alternatives.
To me, "not on The Chief" means not in Stawamus Provincial Park, which is pretty much all that the park encompasses, or am I wrong?
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peas
Sep 30, 2004, 12:38 AM
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The park encompasses more than the Chief. I believe it covers the land across Oleson Creek from the Chief as well to a fair distance up the Oleson Creek Valley. That would make it pretty tough to run a gondola from near the highway/Chief/Shannon Falls anywhere up on to of Shannon Falls, Goat Ridge, etc. without going through a provincial park.
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flying_dutchman
Sep 30, 2004, 4:22 PM
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In reply to: The Chief Wins the Day At a special meeting of Squamish Council, Tuesday evening September 28th, the two Whistler developers seeking to build a gondola to the summit of the Centre Chief made their formal public presentation to solicit support from the Mayor and six Councillors. This was preceded by a 10 minute presentation by Tom Bell of the Ministry of Water, Land & Air Protection, explaining the details of the public process. After the developers' presentation the concept was discussed by Squamish Council then politely but firmly rejected to loud applause. This followed, as was stated at the meeting, a similar rejection by Squamish Nation earlier the same day that was reportedly less than polite. It was an extraordinary event. About 200 climbers attended, and for many it was their first Council meeting. Three Vancouver television stations were present, as well as print and radio media, and many climbers were interviewed. The developers presentation was halting at times, and some of their comments, such as the Chief being only for "...an elite group of very fit young people" brought groans from the audience. The red lapel buttons from Anders Ourom, declaring "Friend of the Chief", were a big hit. Almost everyone attending, including elected officials, snapped them up. One lasting effect of the no-gondola campaign, the media attention on climbing values, and the high attendance at the meeting is that climbers have now staked out a political presence in Squamish that has gained the respect and attention of elected officials and the media. This bodes well for the future. We will need it, as major issues are upcoming in the not-so-far-distant future. Squamish Council's decision was in the form of a motion that indicated their rejection of a gondola on the Chief itself, but it left open the door to discussion of a gondola elsewhere. The proponents alluded to an interest in perhaps looking at going up from the same base area by Olesen Creek into the general area north of Shannon Falls, but what comes of that remains to be seen. The financial plan may not be as promising, and Stawamus Chief Provincial Park extends much further south than many realize, even encompassing most of Shannon Falls itself. Shannon Falls Park is quite small, basically the flat land up to the foot of the falls, most of the Papoose and hillside above it. That being so, First Nation's and Squamish Council's rejection of the gondola in Stawamus Chief Provincial Park would most likely require the proponents to start all over again for another location near Shannon Falls, and Bill Barisoff, Minister of Water, Land & Air Protection, may be glad to have that opportunity to ditch the idea once and for all. Our congratulations go to all who participated in ways large and small in this two-month campaign, most especially Megan Olesky and Ron Enns of Friends of the Chief, supported by Tyrone Brett, John Irvine, Andrea Harris, Marie Palmer, Anders Ourom, Paul Demers, Lisa Richardson, myself, and a cast of hundreds. Kevin McLane chair, Squamish Access Society Postscript One of the developers told television media after the meeting that "...only climbers and First Nations are against the proposal, currently 99% of the population does not have access to the climbers' private sandbox". |
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fiend
Sep 30, 2004, 5:08 PM
Post #60 of 63
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In reply to: The Chief Wins the Day .... Postscript One of the developers told television media after the meeting that "...only climbers and First Nations are against the proposal, currently 99% of the population does not have access to the climbers' private sandbox".
The best part of the council meeting was when when Peter Alder said something to the effect of only the young elite being able to get to the top right now and a clearly aged voice from the back shouted something I couldn't make out. I think she was shouting something about being 65 and hiking the Chief with no problems... the people applauding her drowned out her voice pretty fast.
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fiend
Sep 30, 2004, 5:11 PM
Post #61 of 63
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In reply to: The park encompasses more than the Chief. I believe it covers the land across Oleson Creek from the Chief as well to a fair distance up the Oleson Creek Valley. That would make it pretty tough to run a gondola from near the highway/Chief/Shannon Falls anywhere up on to of Shannon Falls, Goat Ridge, etc. without going through a provincial park.
One of the places that some of the locals are trying to convince them would be better is up to a ridge on Habrich which would provide access to biking, climbing and backcountry skiing in winter. It could probably also be done with only one or two support towers in the actual Stawamus Chief Provincial Park.
Mathews and Alder already own the gravel lot they want to use as the gondola base station and I don't think they'll give it up easilly and move elsewhere
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tattooed_climber
Oct 18, 2004, 3:12 AM
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No Gondola for the Chief
Wednesday, September 29, 2004
No Gondola on the Chief. Squamish council grounds bid...
At a special meeting of Squamish Council, Tuesday evening September 28th, the two Whistler developers seeking to build a gondola to the summit of the Centre Chief made their formal public presentation to solicit support from the Mayor and six Councillors. This was preceded by a 10 minute presentation by Tom Bell of the Ministry of Water, Land & Air Protection, explaining the details of the public process.
After the developers' presentation the concept was discussed by Squamish Council then politely but firmly rejected to loud applause. This followed, as was stated at the meeting, a similar rejection by Squamish Nation earlier the same day that was reportedly less than polite.
It was an extraordinary event. About 200 climbers attended, and for many it was their first Council meeting. Three Vancouver television stations were present, as well as print and radio media, and many climbers were interviewed. The developers presentation was halting at times, and some of their comments, such as the Chief being only for "...an elite group of very fit young people" brought groans from the audience. The red lapel buttons from Anders Ourom, declaring "Friend of the Chief", were a big hit. Almost everyone attending, including elected officials, snapped them up.
One lasting effect of the no-gondola campaign, the media attention on climbing values, and the high attendance at the meeting is that climbers have now staked out a political presence in Squamish that has gained the respect and attention of elected officials and the media. This bodes well for the future. We will need it, as major issues are upcoming in the not-so-far-distant future.
Squamish Council's decision was in the form of a motion that indicated their rejection of a gondola on the Chief itself, but it left open the door to discussion of a gondola elsewhere. The proponents alluded to an interest in perhaps looking at going up from the same base area by Olesen Creek into the general area north of Shannon Falls, but what comes of that remains to be seen. The financial plan may not be as promising, and Stawamus Chief Provincial Park extends much further south than many realize, even encompassing most of Shannon Falls itself. Shannon Falls Park is quite small, basically the flat land up to the foot of the falls, most of the Papoose and hillside above it.
That being so, First Nation's and Squamish Council's rejection of the gondola in Stawamus Chief Provincial Park would most likely require the proponents to start all over again for another location near Shannon Falls, and Bill Barisoff, Minister of Water, Land & Air Protection, may be glad to have that opportunity to ditch the idea once and for all.
Kevin McLane
chair, Squamish Access Society
Copied from the Arc'Teryx Website
http://www.arcteryx.com/...logfile=Gondola-Blog
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gunkyjon
Jan 7, 2005, 12:39 AM
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The gondola idea is stupid
After the olympics is over how much will the government pay to maintian it? After all the hike up the chief is not that hard after all. I dont know what the hell the government is thinking. All the government is going to do is piss off a bunch a climbers, hikers, and etc.
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