SORCA and developer Bob Cheema sign MOU

SORCA and Vancouver developer Bob Cheema have entered into a ‘precedent setting’ memorandum of understanding to develop a vision for District Lots 509 and 510 as Canada’s first bike-in, bike-out mountain bike community.

“Given the evolution of mountain biking on lots 509 and 510, I am seeking to add value to any development I undertake by preserving and enhancing as much of the adjacent mountain bike trail network as possible,” Bob Cheema said.

Cheema said he imagines a development that is value-added by adjacent mountain bike trails just like the developments in Whistler-Blackcomb are value-added by adjacent ski runs. My intention is to create a development of extraordinary value to Squamish, he said.

Cheema owns lots 509 and 510, about 450 acres of under-developed mixed-forest hillside north of Garibaldi Highlands and west of Mashiter Creek.

Aaaron Cheema, speaking for the Cheema family, said he would like to invite the community to speak about their development at the OCP heating on March 12 and 13th at the Brennan Park Recreation Centre.

“In five days, over 700 Squamish residents have signed a petition urging council to stop moving the goal posts and keep trail access open to the Cheema Lands,” Aaron said.

The petition is asking the council to remove the population cap, the six precursors policies and the 200m-elevation threshold and a new access road to hwy 99.

Squamish Off-Road Cycling Association president said there is potential for development that creates positive value for the developer and Squamish’s citizens, its visitors, its mountain bikers and its economy, said SORCA president Jeff Cooke.

Squamish is in the top 10 destinations in the world for mountain biking and some of its most iconic trails run through District Lots 509 and 510 in the Garibaldi Highlands area, Cooke noted.

“Given the value mountain biking has to Squamish as both a recreational amenity and economic driver this effort is going to critical in defining development that leverages that value town while contributing to the housing needs of our growing community,” he said.

The output from collaboration between Mr. Cheema and SORCA to develop a vision for lots 509 and 510 will be the basis for broader consultation with Squamish.

This output will include: A detailed land use plan, including total developable land, maximum dwelling units and commercial and industrial land uses and the lands to be endowed for recreational use, description of the housing mix, phasing and sequencing of the proposed development, identifying environmentally sensitive areas and wildlife habitats, and identification of significant, contiguous areas for protection and restoration as well as identifying interconnections between development and the lands to be endowed for recreational use (i.e. the Garibaldi Highlands trail network)

Cheema has been working with SORCA for the last few years for a win-win solution on how best to develop the land.

Last month, council voted to keep the population caps in the Official Community Plan, which limits development in particular areas until the point where the population reaches 34,000, a decision Cheema says is arbitrary and lacks transparency.

“Council continues to move the threshold every time the OCP comes up for review with no clear justification as to why. This type of administrative arbitrariness is inexplicable and unreasonable. Administrative decisions should be transparent and have consistency,” Cheema said.