At a council meeting on April 19, Mayor Jack Crompton and the council directed staff to amend the current zoning and parking bylaws to comply with provincial legislation and create a new bylaw designating the Gondola Exchange as a Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Area.
A first reading of those bylaws is tentatively scheduled for May 14. The RMOW is required to designate the Whistler Gondola Exchange as a TOD area by law. The prescribed TOD area applies to parcels of land within 400 metres of the Whistler Gondola Exchange. A TOD area is within a set distance from a transit station that allows for a minimum allowable residential building height and density that local governments must adhere to when considering rezoning applications for residential development.
Staff are completing an analysis to identify the parcels within the designated TOD area and a zoning analysis to determine eligible residential properties. They will present a proposed project approach for Council consideration in Spring 2024.
The TOD bylaw must be completed by June 30, 2024. A Zoning and Parking Bylaw No.303, 2015 amendment is required to remove residential off-street parking requirements in the TOD area. Mayor Crompton has also encouraged Whistlerites to be interested in learning more about the legislation and to watch the Committee of the Whole meeting, where officials discussed how a third piece of provincial legislation could impact Whistler’s housing initiatives.
Bill 46, a Housing Statutes (Development Financing) Amendment Act, aims to provide local governments with more development finance tools to help fund the costs of infrastructure and amenities.
Meanwhile, new provincial rules on housing will apply to 3,500 properties in Whistler.