Whistler Museum and Archives Society

Creating Whistler’s Parks: Emerald Forest, the three-wayCreating Whistler’s Parks: Emerald Forest, the three-way

May 30, 2023 Whistler Museum 0 Comments

Nancy Wilhelm-Morden made many important decisions for the Whistler community during her time as councillor and mayor. However, the accomplishment she is most proud of from this time is the protection of the Emerald Forest.

Emerald Forest is the 56.3 hectare (139 acre) protected area between Whistler Cay and Alpine. It is a significant habitat corridor for many of Whistler’s furry and feathered friends and is enjoyed by hikers and bikers.

Before 1972 when the BC Highways Department extended Alta Lake Road connecting Rainbow Lodge (now Rainbow Park) to Alpine, there was limited access to the area now known as the Emerald Forest. The extension of Alta Lake Road, along with the construction of the first section of the Valley Trail between Whistler Cay and Alpine, meant that the Emerald Forest Lands became more readily accessible to recreationists.

When mountain biking took off in the 1980s the local trail builders started what are today Whistler’s world-renowned mountain bike trails. Many of the earliest trails were built through the Emerald Forest despite it being privately owned land.

*Dan Swanstrom scanning one of his trails in 1994. Dan was responsible for building many of the popular trails through the Emerald Forest. Whistler Question Collection.*

The lot had been bought by Decigon Corporation in the late 1970s. As the area became more popular with mountain bikes, ‘no trespassing’ signs started to appear. There were additional challenges as well when a mountain biker broke their back in the early 1990s and brought a lawsuit against the landowners.

Decigon made multiple unsuccessful attempts at getting the land rezoned throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s. Then in 1996, the municipality increased the minimum parcel size of land with the Rural Resource 1 Zoning (RR1) from 20 acres to 100 acres. This meant that parcels zoned RR1 could be subdivided into 100 acres at minimum. Trying to maximise their return on investment, Decigon came forward with proposals to develop the land before this change came into effect.

Their preferred plan was for high-density development on a small section of the land. Forty single-family lots with a total of 240 bed units were proposed for 20 acres. Under this plan, the remaining undeveloped land would be protected as parkland, therefore retaining many of the bike trails. This would require rezoning of the land and the municipality was reluctant to approve the proposal because the number of bed units exceeded the development cap.

WORCA president Al Grey appeared in the Whistler Question in 1995, discussing etiquette and maintaining trail quality as more and more riders were getting into mountain biking. Whistler Question Collection.

Decigon’s alternative proposal involved subdividing the entire lot into 20 acre parcels for six single-family homes with 36 bed units. This fit within the RR1 zoning restrictions, however, would be a huge loss of established biking trails. Local community groups Association of Whistler Area Residents for the Environment (AWARE) and Whistler Off Road Cycling Association (WORCA) were also very active in campaigning for the protection of the forest for the environment and recreation.

Between 1996 and 1999, Decigon, led by the Houghton brothers, was constantly in the media trying to garner support from the Whistler community and council. However, they could not come to an acceptable agreement with the council and Decigon became more and more outraged as the years passed. Most meetings were held in-camera – closed to the public – and rumours were swirling about an impending lawsuit against the municipality.

Then, in August 1999 it was finally announced that a deal had been made for the Emerald Forest lands. Unbeknownst to the community, Intrawest had been brought in as a third party to finally make the deal happen. In the three-way deal, Intrawest purchased the Emerald Forest lands from Decigon for an undisclosed sum. The municipality then paid Intrawest $1 million and gave them approval for an additional 476 bed units so they could develop two further hotels in the Benchlands, in exchange for the Emerald Forest.

There was some disappointment toward this agreement because it meant that Whistler would far exceed the development cap outlined in the Official Community Plan. However, the unique agreement succeeded in ensuring the Emerald Forest was protected in perpetuity.

Whistler's Answers

Whistler’s Answers: May 24, 1984Whistler’s Answers: May 24, 1984

May 25, 2023 Whistler Museum 0 Comments

In the 1980s the Whistler Question began posing a question to three to six people and publishing their responses under “Whistler’s Answers” (not to be confused with the Whistler Answer). Each week, we’ll be sharing one question and the answers given back in 1984. Please note, all names/answers/occupations/neighbourhoods represent information given to the Question at the time of publishing and do not necessarily reflect the person today.

Some context for this week’s question: In 1982, in the midst of a major recession, work on the Resort Centre (also known as the Conference Centre) stalled. The provincial government stepped in and formed Whistler Land Co. Developments, a Crown corporation, in January 1983 in order to take over the development of Whistler Village, including the Resort Centre. However, by May 1984 work had still not resumed on the structure and its future was uncertain. Work would eventually resume by the end of the year and the Conference Centre was operational by 1986, though very different from the original vision for the building.

Question: Do you think construction on the Conference Centre will resume?

Jack Robertson – Recuperating Bartender – Whistler Cay

I don’t agree that it should be sitting idle. I wish they would do something with it – whether it turns into a conference centre or a recreation centre, it’s costing a lot for it to just sit there. Let’s do something with it.

Jean-Jacques Aaron – Nightclub Owner – Whistler Village

Of course it’s going to go ahead. Financing takes a long time to organize. It’s coming up fast. If they open a casino here it could make enough to pay for the Conference Centre in a year.

Larry Broadway – Mechanical Contractor – White Gold

Yes. The necessity of the Conference Centre to Whistler and its profile towards investors means it has to go ahead. If it doesn’t it will stifle a lot of growth in Whistler. It’s the focal point of development here.

Creating Whistler’s Parks: Rainbow Park, appropriate to expropriateCreating Whistler’s Parks: Rainbow Park, appropriate to expropriate

May 23, 2023 Whistler Museum 0 Comments

The Whistler Question wrote in 1980, “The Municipality has reviewed the opportunities in the Alta Lake area and without expropriation or purchase of private land property, the recreational opportunity in the Alta Lake area for swimming, especially a beach area for young children, is extremely limited.”

It was clear all along that more public access was required for Alta Lake and the Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) had been looking into buying lots on the foreshore of the lake to turn into parks. When Drew Meredith became Mayor in 1986 the council started to think bigger than buying single-family lots, and Rainbow Lodge caught their attention.

Rainbow Lodge, where Rainbow Park is now located, had a long history of tourism. Myrtle and Alex Philip opened the popular vacation destination for summer visitors in 1914. Then in 1948, they sold Rainbow Lodge to the Greenwood family where it continued as a summer resort. In its heyday Rainbow Lodge contained over 40 buildings, including a main lodge, post office, stables and many cabins.

*Rainbow Lodge and surrounding facilities, ca 1930. Philip Collection.*

Rainbow Lodge was sold to Joan Saxton, a speculator from Vancouver, in 1970. Resort operations ceased in the early 1970s, however, people could still rent rooms and cabins on a more long-term basis. Disaster struck in 1977 when the main lodge burnt down during renovations, and by 1986 many of the remaining buildings had fallen into disrepair.

Whilst Whistler had gone through a period of booming development throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Rainbow Lodge remained rather unchanged. Joan Saxton said during the expropriation in 1986, “Pat Carleton said he wanted to get the town centre going, and then after that it would be my turn. They’ve down zoned me and put me off the sewer system.” In Saxton’s eyes this unfairly reduced the value of the land, and the RMOW and Saxton could not come to an agreement on purchase price.

The RMOW had the land appraised twice, and then went to the Provincial Government where they received permission to expropriate the land for public interest. In 1987, the 43.2 hectare (108 acre) parcel of land on Alta Lake was expropriated for $367,000.

*The lakeside cabins at Rainbow Lodge. Philip Collection.*

If the owners had been living on the property the expropriation process may have been more difficult, but the Saxtons lived in the city and rented out some of the remaining cabins. Many of these buildings were in rough shape and had to be demolished when the area became a park. Three of the cabins were preserved for historical value, however, and you can still see these in Rainbow Park today.

*Three remaining guest cabins at Rainbow Park. Photo courtesy of Jeff Slack.*

The park was quickly developed, opening for public use during the summer of 1987. Early improvements to the property included creating a pedestrian crossing over the railway, building up the marshy pathway which was often flooded, and clearing vegetation from the sandy beach. Open wells that had been used for the lodge were filled in, the parking was cleared, and picnic tables added. The beachfront and facilities continued to expand and the park quickly reached the goal of becoming the top beach park in Whistler.

While the council at the time believed the deal was signed and done, the story of Rainbow Park does not end there. In what would become one of the longest lawsuits the RMOW has faced to-date, the Saxton family continued to fight for further compensation. They argued that the land appraisals were not taking into account the size and development potential of the property.

In 2012, the decades-old dispute was finally settled with the judge ordering the RMOW to pay an additional $2.4 million to the Saxton family, valuing the land at $12,000 an acre, comparable to the value of the Nicholas North lands in the early 1990s. With hindsight, the land was revaluated to $1.3 million dollars, and the RMOW was required to pay the difference, plus an additional $1.5 million for unpaid interest.

While Drew Meredith disagreed with judgement, he said Rainbow Park was worth it even at $2.4 million. With the number of people enjoying the sunshine recently, I tend to agree.

*Rainbow Park in September 1990. Griffith Collection.*

Whistler's Answers

Whistler’s Answers: May 17, 1984Whistler’s Answers: May 17, 1984

May 18, 2023 Whistler Museum 0 Comments

In the 1980s the Whistler Question began posing a question to three to six people and publishing their responses under “Whistler’s Answers” (not to be confused with the Whistler Answer). Each week, we’ll be sharing one question and the answers given back in 1984. Please note, all names/answers/occupations/neighbourhoods represent information given to the Question at the time of publishing and do not necessarily reflect the person today.

Some context for this week’s question: On May 8, 1984, an army corporal entered the National Assembly in Quebec City and shot sixteen people, killing three. It is believed that the shooter was motivated to “destroy” the government of the Parti Quebecois, including Premier René Lévesque. Following the shooting, security measures were increased at the National Assembly, including the introduction of armed police officers and metal detectors.

Question: Following the shooting in Quebec Legislature, do you think politicians will increase security?

Peter Porteous – Waiting Unit – Brio

Obviously security is lacking, but living in Canada, we don’t have to protect ourselves with armed guards outside of the Parliament building. We are fortunate for that – it’s not an armed fortress like in Europe.

Megan Moore – Hotel Employee – Alta Vista

I think they probably will for a while, probably for about a year, and then it will go back to normal. They’ll find something else to do. Canada does have gun control, so it’s a safe country.

Don Goodall – Unemployed – Whistler

If they do plan on being more security conscious there’s the possibility that they might take it a bit too far and infringe on the people’s right to enter the legislature and see government in action. On the other hand terrorism is on the rise, so I guess politics could be a dangerous profession for the next few years.