The Squamish development genie is out of the bottle and the associated residential housing boom is rumbling into uncharted territory.
High-density infill, based on smart growth principles, has become one of the District’s primary planning strategies. Theoretically, the downtown stacked condo concept appears to have plenty of upsides. The thinking is condos are more affordable than most other options, so the focus on high-density infill should increase reasonably priced housing supply. And additional retail and commercial space in higher density mixed-use neighbourhoods can lead to employment prospects close to where people live and reduce private vehicle dependency.
At the same time, there is a strong possibility that the dominant employment sector in the downtown core will be low-wage service industry jobs.
And affordability may also be a fleeting dream. During the last three years, median housing prices in Squamish have risen from just over $600,000 to over $950,000. If the past is a guide, once new units come on the market, they will trigger a buying frenzy driving prices even higher. Anybody ready to spend the big bucks on a condo in the next few years will likely be heading to work somewhere up or down the highway to pay off a salary-sapping mortgage. That means personal vehicles will continue to be indispensable, and those rides need to be parked close to home in an area of the community already saddled with traffic congestion and parking woes.
In theory, high-density downtown neighbourhoods should avert that devil’s brew called urban sprawl.
The truth is sprawl is already here, from Valleycliffe to the Garibaldi Highlands, from Dentville to the North Yards, and from Brackendale to the Garibaldi Estates. Up until now, the Squamish version of urban sprawl has been manageable due to a relatively uncongested highway running down the middle of the community, providing convenient access and considerable open space between neighbourhoods. But that is about to change dramatically with a dizzying array of projects underway or in the works. Those offerings include the proposed Loggers East neighbourhood, the 100-acre Oceanfront Squamish complex, the planned Scott Creek development, Coastal Village/Soleil, the SEAandSKy development, the Garibaldi Springs community, the “Village” at the Bailey and Cleveland Avenue intersection, and the expansion of Crumpit Woods.
Additionally, the Cheema lands in the Garibaldi Highlands and the “Cheekeye Neighbourhood” in Brackendale are waiting in the wings. Up on Brohm Ridge, the zenith of local development, the $3.5-billion Garibaldi at Squamish, all-season resort, could see shovels in the ground by the fall of 2028.
Former Squamish mayor, Patricia Heintzman, has some major concerns about this explosion of activity on the housing front. She claims, “none of these large sprawl type developments should be considered unless they break the mould and truly innovate.”
One of her biggest pet peeves is most new developments “are pretty unimaginative and unsustainable in their concept and design. We put in cookie-cutter developments based on a 1950s mindset that are generic.”
All in all, despite the best intentions of the District’s planning department, at the present rate, this town is heading for the double whammy of high-density infill overload, coupled with unfettered urban sprawl.
Political columnist Helmut Manzl writes about muni hall for The Squamish Chief twice per month.
