More employee housing—24 more units—will be coming to 1000 Alpha Lake Rd. after the council approved amending the zoning bylaw and development permit at a council meeting on April 9. This would bring the total number of units to 72.
Whistler council voted unanimously for three readings of the amended development permit, which allows more housing than was originally planned for a subdivision at the corner of Highway 99 and Alpha Lake Road, near the entrance to Function Junction.
The 2.15-hectare parcel is owned by Líl ̓wat Nation and is set to be split into two distinct lots. Last year, a development permit was issued for a service station to be built on Lot 1 and a pair of employee housing buildings on top of a mixed commercial/ warehouse/retail/ space on Lot 2. A brewery was also proposed.
At the April 9 meeting, the Council gave the first, second and third readings to a zoning amendment bylaw and heard about a new development permit proposal that would scrap those initial plans for the brewery in favour of a third mixed-use building with 24 more employee housing units.
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The new plan brings the development’s total number of employee housing units to 72. The three buildings would encompass 192 beds split into one, two and three-bedroom units. The revised plan would slightly larger Lot 2 and offer it direct access to Alpha Lake Road. However, plans for a service station on Lot 1 remain unchanged.
Though councillors questioned the types of commercial tenants that could be accommodated within the proposed development, they overwhelmingly supported the proposed amendments for more employee housing.
“Go, go, go, go,” said Mayor Jack Crompton. We’re excited to see this built in our community.”