The resort will be located on Brohm Ridge just north of Squamish and will eventually have a daily capacity of 19,000 skiers and boarders with an "impressive" vertical rise of 1000 meters. Although a significant portion of visitors are expected to be day trippers, the real estate component will include 1500 hotel rooms, 1850 condos and 500 single family homes. The area covers 7300 acres.

If this proposal goes ahead it would locate a large ski village and ski lifts right against Garibaldi Mountain near the popular Garibaldi Neve ski traverse. The developer refuses to rule out expansion into Garibaldi Park. A quick look at the map for this area shows that the best ski terrain is located inside the park. If this project goes ahead it seems almost inevitable that the developers will want to expand into the park. Indeed the promotional video for the project has mostly footage from inside the park and very little footage of the actual Brohm Ridge area.

The snowmobilers that currently use the area will get displaced and they are currently lobbying for a corriodor along the edge of the park to access some of the area around the black tusk microwave road area. This snowmobile displacement will mean that additional snowmobilers are going elsewhere to sled and this will put pressure on already crowded areas.

The Brohm Ridge project is currently being reviewed by the Environmental Assessment Office (EAO). They are currently looking for comments and details on how to submit comments can be found here

Thanks for posting this, Ben. You may also want to post something on the "Conservation and Parks issues" section of the website. This development proposal has been in the works for a long time and maybe some people think that it had gone away...

The BCMC has submitted the attached comments to the Environmental Assessment Office (EAO).

Members can submit their own comments here up until tomorrow.

I previously submitted my comments. Here they are:

I believe the GAS development proposal should be consigned to the trash can with a caveat that it cannot be revived for at least 20 years.

The GAS development is urban sprawl spreading out from Squamish. The housing project is completely car-dependent. I am against the development of ski facilities for other reasons but the proposed housing development is completely unnecessary as demand can be accommodated in nearby Squamish about 10 or 15 minutes away by car. Squamish already has municipal water, sewage and transportation etc. The development of housing at Brohm Ridge has none of these services and requires a huge environmental footprint compared what could be had in Squamish.

The region does not need another ski development. It is also next to Garibaldi Park. If the ski development proceeds and does not immediately go bankrupt, it will only be a matter of time before the developers will be clamoring to expand the facility into Garibaldi Park in order to prevent bankruptcy.

I think the GAS proposal should be viewed as what it is - a money-losing ski hill with valley-bottom housing development intended to turn a nice profit to the developers. So why not just be frank and propose the housing development without the ski hill. That's because it would be clear for all to see that the development is just a housing land grab with no connection to skiing. It is unlike Whistler in which the ski development is intimately tied to the village. By attempting to tie the ski development and housing together, GAS is just trying to manipulate public opinion. I think the development should be viewed as what it is - ugly urban sprawl spreading north from Squamish. Considering that Squamish cannot even be considered as remotely densified there is no actual market need for GAS.

The GAS development will reduce the working forest land on Brohm Ridge. It will result in the loss of jobs in a renewable industry.