Heli-skiing lodges and the Revelstoke Adventure Park proposal were the topics of discussion at the Columbia Shuswap Regional District Advisory Planning Commission meeting in Revelstoke on Sept. 11.
The meeting lasted well over two hours; here’s a brief recap.
Revelstoke Adventure Park earns non-farm endorsement
Illecillewaet Development Inc., the parent company of the proposed Revelstoke Adventure Park, also earned approval from the commission for a non-farm use of the portion of their proposed adventure park that is in the B.C. Agricultural Land Reserve.
The RAP adventure park is proposed for the Greeley area, east of Revelstoke on the Trans-Canada Highway.
Consultant Bob Holtby spoke on behalf of Illecillewaet, saying much of the land was marginal, at best, and was suitable for limited hay production.
Talk around the table following the meeting was of a new, second phase of the Revelstoke Adventure Park that had just been submitted to the Columbia Shuswap Regional District.
CSRD senior planner Dan Passmore told the Times Review the Illecillewaet Development company is submitting a subdivision application for a parcel of land near the RAP proposal, just on the north side of the train tracks.
The Times Review asked for a copy of the subdivision application, but Passmore said it wasn’t yet available for public view.
Eagle Pass earns temporary use permit for Airport Way lodge
Eagle Pass Heliskiing earned an endorsement from the commission for a temporary use permit at their temporary lodge at 4785 Airport Way. Eagle Pass has been offering lodging and heliskiing tours at the rural mansion developed by Revelstoke Mountain Resort partner Robert Powadiuk, but they needed a temporary use permit following a complaint.
Newsome said the heliskiing company is not making any material alterations to the land while they operate there in the coming few seasons.
Eagle Pass owner Scott Newsome said they plan to develop another lodge at a property in the coming years, but need the location for the time being.
Although the commission approved the temporary use, the permission comes from the Agricultural Land Commission.
Nelles Ranch rezoning application turned down
Owner Denny Kaulback’s application to rezone the Nelles Ranch from rural residential to highway commercial was denied by the commission.
The ranch was rented to residential tenants when it was hit by a fire in February of this year. Then this summer, Kaulback filed an application for the rezoning. At the time, the paperwork said Eagle Pass Heliskiing was interested in building a new lodge at the ranch site, although Eagle Pass owner Scott Newsome played down the report, saying it was speculative.
Since then, the deal with Eagle Pass has fallen through, the commission heard.
Without a definite plan in place, the Area B Advisory Planning Commission was reluctant to approve the rezoning, noting it opened the door for many potential uses, such as a gas station, retail or a restaurant.
Kaulback noted the rezoning would bring the currently non-conforming property into a conforming use.
The commission discussed approving limited potential future uses, but in the end rejected the rezoning application.