It looks like locals will soon be able to buy fresh veggies and meat, among other things, at Walmart.
The rezoning application to turn the Squamish Walmart into a Supercentre has been given its first three readings by council.
Six out of the seven council members voted to support the rezoning, which if adopted, will see the store granted permission to sell fresh produce.
At the Nov. 19 regular council meeting, District planner Philip Gibbins gave some background information on the site, which has been prohibited from selling things such as fresh fruit, vegetables and meat since opening in 2006.
“The original rezoning allowed for large format retail in the business park. However, it placed restrictions on the sale of perishable and non-perishable food items to limit food retail within the business park to reduce competition for grocery stores downtown,” Gibbins said.
“This allowed Walmart to operate their standard format at the time, and as part of the rezoning, there was an agreement with Walmart not to apply for rezoning for at least five years.”
The rezoning amendment would see the removal of site-specific restrictions on the sale of perishable and non-perishable food items.
“Removing these restrictions would allow a full range of food options at the Walmart store, increasing grocery options for Squamish residents,” Gibbins said.
“Over the past 15 years, the District has experienced significant population growth, which is projected to continue driving demand and market support for additional food retail."
As part of the rezoning application, Walmart has also applied for a permit to update the look of the store. The proposed changes include painting the facade, updating signage, adding covered bicycle parking, two new murals facing Discovery Way, and staff end-of-trip facilities.
Council comments
Mayor Armand Hurford threw his support behind the rezoning to help the affordability crisis felt across Squamish and B.C. as a whole.
“I'm supportive of this change. I think it's important that our land use decisions evolve over time as the context changes,” Hurford said.
“At the time, in 2004, 2005 our population was around 14,000 people. I remember this discussion in the community around protecting our existing grocers, and, really, having Walmart come to the community at all at that time was a very challenging conversation for the community.
“It actually had quite a positive impact on the community ... and we saw a positive ripple effect throughout the community, of people staying in the community to do their business.”
Hurford said his decision to support the rezoning comes after he noticed the prices across different grocery stores in B.C. compared with Squamish.
“In my travels this year, in particular as far north as Whitehorse, I've noticed that our grocery prices here are more than they are in some of these places that are very hard to get to and thus should be reflected in the pricing of the groceries.
“So if we weren't experiencing the disproportionately high costs here in Squamish, I think this conversation could be different. But there's a limit to everything, and I think that it's totally responsible to take this step now in the context of 2024, and so I'm happy to support this.”
Coun. Lauren Greenlaw echoed Hurford’s comments about the affordability crisis and the impact the rezoning could have on the community.
“I'll be supporting the motion on the floor, though I do have concerns about the potential negative impacts on existing grocers, in particular Farmers on Duty, which is a family run small scale grocer that is within ... 100 metres of Walmart,” she said.
“Personally, I try not to support big companies and shop local as much as possible. But as Mayor Hurford mentioned, that is sometimes a luxury, and affordability is a major conversation in this community. So I hope that Walmart expanding to a superstore will alleviate some financial burdens for members in our community.”
Coun. John French kept his support of the proposal short and sweet.
“The modernization of this store is, in my opinion, overdue. I support these changes based on feedback that I've had from residents who welcome the increased competition in the grocery sector,” he said.
“As an added bonus, the murals and the additional formal bike infrastructure, I think, are going to be positive new additions to the building.”
Councillors Eric Andersen and Andrew Hamilton were both also supportive of the rezoning and alongside Coun. Greenlaw, they each encouraged Walmart to work with Squamish Arts on the two murals included in the proposal.
The only council member not to support the project was Coun. Chris Pettingill, who voted against the rezoning, but not because of anything to do with Walmart itself.
“Unfortunately, I'm not going to be able to support this, and the primary reason is actually not the proponent's fault. As alluded to, the Fortis-Woodfibre pipeline that is going along Finch and Industrial is an incredibly, unusually large pipeline that is close to human habitation,” he said.
“I have been asking Fortis [for risk and consequence analysis information], they did a presentation, and I told them, clearly, it was insufficient … Without that information, I am not comfortable that this is safe, and so my only tool as a local official is to think about land use and proximity to that pipeline.
“So in the absence, when most of the information I have says that this probably isn't a safe thing, I have to go with the best information I have, and I would encourage us to find a way to get some better information … but at this point, unfortunately, that is a deal breaker for me.”
The Walmart rezoning application will return to council at a later date for adoption.
For more information on the proposal to change Walmart into a Supercentre, visit the District of Squamish website.
