It turns out an almost 18-metre water tower-themed sign may be coming to the Sea to Sky Business Park after all.
On Tuesday night, members of council reconsidered the development variance permit for the sign, which they turned down at a meeting on July 25.
The variance allows the sign to exceed the permitted height of 10.7 metres.
The sign is slated to be erected at the corner of Discovery and Commercial ways and stand about seven metres above the business park.
It will consist of a faux water tank with the words, “Sea to Sky Business Park” printed around it, atop a wooden tower.
The sign was part of the original plan for the park, a 20-acre, multi-phased project by the Solterra Group of Companies, approved in 2014.
Mayor Patricia Heintzman brought forward the variance permit for reconsideration on the urging of Coun. Doug Race, she said.
A council member who voted with the majority on a motion can bring a decision forward for reconsideration within 30 days.
In July, the permit was defeated with Heintzman and councillors Jason Blackman-Wulff, Karen Elliott and Susan Chapelle opposed and councillors Race, Ted Prior and Peter Kent in favour.
This time, Heintzman supported granting the development variance permit.
Race said that since the sign was originally Ok’d by a previously elected council almost four years ago without the height variance, it was unfair for this council to have killed it at the final approval stage.
“This was basically not fair and poor process and did not treat fairly the applicant or others that would have relied on that decision,” Race told council.
He added that rejecting it at this stage would hurt the municipality’s reputation.
“The decisions we make here, if they are not business friendly, if they are not investor friendly, are going to impact this community – people will not come.”
Six of the business park’s current tenants sent letters of support for the sign to council prior to the July meeting.
Arguments against the tower focused primarily on the extra height, which Coun. Elliott called “obnoxious.”
Councillors Chapelle and Blackman-Wulff continued to object to the sign on several grounds including that it set a dangerous precedent that other businesses will want to follow.
Earlier in the meeting Tuesday night, a delegation from British Columbia Timberframe, the company that will be involved in building the water town sign, presented to council.
The sign will use local wood resources and employ six full time staff members, according to the company.
“When I am on my travels I talk about Squamish as a modern timber town, not the old town,” said Kelvin Mooney of BC Timberframe. “[The sign] is a great project for BC Timberframe, but it is also a great project for Squamish.”
