A new development proposal seeks to turn the rabbit-friendly land of Klahanie Campground into a world-class destination resort overlooking Shannon Falls. On Sept. 10, the District of Squamish received an updated development proposal for the property. If approved, the resort would displace about 35 families who rent sites year-round.
Property manager Rick Poissant said tenants would be given ample warning before being asked to leave.
"They'd have to give everyone notice and I think that's at least a year," he said, adding that even after construction began, residents could have extra time to find lodging. "The hotel would be built in an area where there's no RV camping, it's just dead space."
Drawings for the site show 29 different buildings, which in the first phase of development would accommodate 165 hotel units along with 184 quarter-share condominium units.
These condominiums would serve as vacation homes for four different fractional owners per unit. Richard Iredale, of Iredale Group Architecture elaborated on the plan, now being referred to as Shannon Falls Spa and Resort.
He said the site would hold "a timber and basalt four-star hotel at the center of the resort providing restaurants, shops, a pub, sports-equipment rentals, a convenience store, and first-class spa facilities including a large indoor-outdoor pool and massage therapy studios."
District planner Chris Bishop said the proposal seems to conform with the property's zoning. He says it may not be long before the land, which has operated as a campground for more than 30 years, begins to change.
"Depending on council, engineering and building department approvals, construction could start as early as next spring," he said.A year earlier, Iredale submitted a similar proposal that did not fit as easily into municipal and federal regulations.
An onsite marina did not conform with zoning bylaws, while development by Shannon Creek did not abide with Department of Fisheries and Oceans regulations.The new proposal avoids these issues. It scraps plans for a marina, relying instead on a dock in Darrell's Bay. The plan also ensures all buildings have a 30-metre setback from the water.Poissant said he is excited for the property owners who get to be involved in such an ambitious project.
He said that property taxes have made it unreasonable for them to operate the land as a campground with rates that top out at $28.However, the Klahanie Campground continues to make a profit and Poissant said it is too soon for current residents and visitors to walk away from the site.
"[The proposal] is still in the very early stages," he said.
