The massive, $89-million debris flow barrier is one step closer to being built after Squamish council endorsed several more needed agreements.
At a special business meeting on July 15, local elected officials passed several resolutions that are required to start construction of the Cheekeye debris flow barrier.
(The District uses the Cheekeye spelling; The Squamish Chief uses Cheekye, as the default spelling.)
On June 11, council passed the official community plan amendment and rezoning for the project.
But council still needed to accept responsibility as the Local Diking Authority for the barrier, approve the provincial indemnity agreement terms, and authorize execution of the Cheekeye barrier services agreement and licence of occupation.
These outstanding issues were moved forward on July 15.
As a reminder, the Cheekeye River development is a mixed-use neighbourhood in Brackendale that will include 1,215 housing units. The community will be located on both sides of Ross Road, between Highway 99 and Government Road.
It is located on the Cheekye Fan and so requires mitigation to protect residents from a natural disaster in the form of debris flow from Mount Garibaldi (Nch'ḵaỷ).
After much investigation, it was determined that the best course of action was to install a debris flow barrier at the apex of the Cheekye Fan on Crown land.
It will also protect existing residents.
Sqomish Sea to Sky Developments Ltd., a partnership between the Squamish Nation and Matthews West, the developers behind Oceanfront Squamish, will construct the barrier on the District's behalf. The District will then become the owner of it and be responsible for maintaining it.
Operations and maintenance of the debris flow barrier are estimated to cost $540,000 annually.
The Licence of Occupation includes requirements for using Crown land during the barrier's construction and operating stages.
For example, the license states that if the agreement is terminated for any reason, such as the unlikely scenario where the developer defaults, the District would have to restore the site to a "safe, clean and sanitary condition," according to the staff report to council.
The Cheekeye debris flow barrier services agreement is between the District and the developer and lays out what the developer promises to do, including timelines, required insurance and security deposits.
Provincial indemnity
The provincial indemnity agreement is between the District and the provincial government.
An indemnity is a contractual obligation of one party, the province in this case, to compensate the loss incurred by another party, the District.
In this case, the provincial government will cover the cost of debris flow restoration, should a debris flow—landslide—occur, if costs exceed available funds within the District reserve up to a maximum annual cleanout amount of 500,000 cubic meters. The final indemnity agreement will remain in effect for 20 years and will be renegotiated in good faith at least six months prior to the expiration of the agreement.
There was a lot of discussion by council at the July 15 meeting about this agreement.
Staff noted that while the municipality had proposed in negotiations with the province that the agreement have no expiration date, the province did not accept this term, instead opting for a 20-year term.
"The province has indicated that its rationale for a 20-year term is so that it does not fetter future provincial governments and has the ability to renegotiate when the context may be different, for example utilizing other financial risk products that are currently not available," reads the staff report to council.
According to staff, the risk that the District takes in having agreed to this term is that "at the end of the 20-year period, the province may not renew the indemnity agreement and therefore, the District would assume all costs of ownership."
The costs would then need to be covered by taxation, both the new residents of the yet-to-be-built neighbourhood and existing residents.
District chief administrative officer (CAO) Linda Glenday said that there was a lot of back-and-forth between the provincial government's staff and the municipality. She said that while it is a limited indemnification with risks, it was a solid agreement.
She told council members prior to their vote, "I do believe it's an exceptional indemnification that the province is providing."
Diking authority
The muni also agreed to become the diking authority of the barrier, as required.
"Accepting the role of the Local Diking Authority commits the District to the responsibility and risk of owning and maintaining the Cheekeye barrier," the report reads.
‘It is a big project’
In voting in favour of the resolutions, Coun. Andrew Hamilton said he was excited to see the project reach its final stages.
"It is a big project. There is a lot of risk here for both the developer and for our community moving forward. We take on some financial risk, which we need to be very clear and very sober about the possibility of very significant taxation impacts in the long-term future, but I think that it is ... something that we need to put in place; that we need to do to project our community and to allow the lands in the north of Brackendale to be safely developed."
Coun. John French noted that, as a lifelong local, he recalls the issue of the danger of living on the Cheekye Fan from his teen years.
"For me, this is as much about protecting development that has been in this area for decades as it is about making way for future much-needed housing in Brackendale to serve our entire community. This is a neighbourhood that has been exposed to significant natural disaster risk for a long time, and our friends at the Squamish Nation remind us of that whenever they're involved in this conversation."
What is next?
District staff will return to council for endorsement of the final indemnity agreement once complete, which is anticipated within the next couple of months. Permission to construct was granted by the engineering department on July 19, following receipt and approval of documents submitted by the developer. Construction is to be completed within five years as stipulated within the Servicing Agreement, however, the contractor has planned for a two-year construction period.
Watch the whole meeting for yourself on the District’s YouTube channel.
