Some 樱桃视频residents have started a petition in reaction to the proposed development of North Crumpit.
As of the afternoon of Feb. 24, Crumpit Legacy's movement has gathered about 750 signatures.
The land in question is adjacent to Valleycliffe, just north of Crumpit Woods.
Recently, the Diamond Head Land Company starting a neigbhourhood planning process for the area, which would govern how development would occur in that zone. Should the District approve this plan after a public engagement process, it's expected that this is the first step towards turning the area into a residential development.
However, organizers of the petition, which is being backed by environmentalist group , are making two proposals to the landowner.
The first proposal is to create a crowdfunding campaign to amass enough money to buy the property from the landowner and ban development on it.
BC Assessment has valued the land at $7.63 million.
The backup proposal would be to convince the owner to develop a small portion of the land on less sensitive habitat. The rest of the land would then be preserved for the community.
However, it is unclear if the Fast family, which owns the land, would be open to those proposals.
Bob Fast declined to comment for this story.
Tracey Saxby, the head of My Sea to Sky, said her organization is supporting the petition because it fits in with its mandate to protect what it deems to be critical ecosystems.
"We believe that the North Crumpit parcel of land is one of those ecosystems that should be prioritized for protection and restoration. And there's a number of reasons for that," Saxby said.
"It's the headwaters of the Little Stawamus Creek. It is critical spawning habitat for coho and chum salmon. There are several species at risk that live in the sensitive wetlands there, including the threatened western toad, the red-legged frog, and several other species."
She also recognized the lands are private and expressed appreciation to the Fast family for allowing people to access the area for many years.
"I think for a lot of people who live in Squamish, we have taken the lands that surround us for granted, not necessarily realizing that they are…privately owned lands," said Saxby.
"So what we're trying to find is, is a path for which results in that win-win for everybody."
Saxby bristled at the idea that the movement could be called another not-in-my-backyard reaction to development in town.
"I have a really big issue with the NIMBY term," Saxby said.
She said that many people in 樱桃视频are starting to have questions about where development should occur.
"My reason being that if we don't take care of the land where we live, nobody else is going to," said Saxby.
"There's not going to be somebody that's going to come in from some other place that doesn't live here, that's going to say, 'Oh, hey, actually, you know, you guys, this is really important, and we should do something to protect it.'"
***Correction: March 2, 3:15 p.m. Please note this story has been updated to show that the Diamond Head Land Company started the neighbourhood planning process, not the District.
