- Water supply issues for the Garibaldi at Squamish proposal remain unresolved. According to Squamish Lillooet Regional District water usage data, GAS grossly underestimates water usage per capita (by between 300-2,400 liters per day/per person, depending upon peak usage times) and according to the Department of Fisheries & Oceans, GAS overestimates the amount of water it will be able to draw from Brohm Creek.
GAS's most recent solution to the water supply issue involves the construction of five dams on Brohm Creek, two of which would be 50m high and four of which would be erected on terrain that consultants had previously deemed too hazardous to build. If these dams prove to be infeasible, how much will it cost to pipe water in from elsewhere?
- Because Garibaldi at Squamish would be so closely situated to the already existing municipality of Squamish, it does not have the option of creating its own resort municipality like Whistler did. GAS would need to become a part of the District of Squamish.
- Due to Brohm Ridge’s rough terrain, ground instability, extremely steep grade, and high precipitation, it will cost hundreds of millions of dollars to build roads (98 km), lifts (25), and other related infrastructure.
The proponent says GAS will pay 300 million, just to get started on the project, but Squamish will be responsible for the cost of maintaining this infrastructure over time. How much will it cost to replace it in twenty years, or perhaps sooner due to the area’s high risk for landslides and flash flooding?
- More hospital beds, school seats, police and firefighting services will be required for the resort population. The GAS proposal acknowledges this need but does not identify who will pay for them.
The proponent says that GAS will generate 54 million in tax revenue for the district of Squamish. Will this be enough to cover all of these service and maintenance costs? Can a second rate ski-hill attract enough tax dollars to pay for itself?
- The GAS proposal boasts that it will create more jobs for Squamish residents. However, the majority of the jobs (service industry, retail, custodial) will be relatively low paying. How will these workers afford to live here? GAS does not properly address where it's employees will live and given the already serious affordable housing issue in Squamish, this is highly problematic.
GAS also claims that these jobs will be 'closer to home' and will therefore shorten commuting time. Yet due to the steep, winding nature of the resort's roads, driving time to Garibaldi at Squamish will in actuality only be 10 mins shorter than the drive to Whistler.
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