Looking to get caught up on the latest from Council? We’ve pulled together some key stories from the May 27 and June 10, 2025 Regular Council and Committee of the Whole meetings, including:   

• A new tree bylaw that protects Whistler’s natural assets

• The latest on the proposed Northlands development  
• A bylaw amendment phasing out inefficient cooling systems          
• Whistler’s progress on zero waste goals  

For all the details, find council reports and video recordings of the full meetings at whistler.ca.

New bylaw aims to protect Whistler’s trees    

At the May 27 Committee of the Whole meeting, Council got a look at a new bylaw aimed at protecting one of Whistler’s most important natural assets.  

The Tree Protection Bylaw is proposed to regulate and manage tree cutting in the community, helping move Whistler closer to its climate resilience goals. Trees and a healthy, resilient urban forest are an essential part of a sustainable community. 

“Tree protection bylaws are seen as an essential tool for communities to meet the challenges of climate change and to preserve and restore the broad range of benefits provided by trees,” explained municipal environmental coordinator Tina Symko.  

The bylaw introduces a Tree Density Minimum (TDM) to prevent excessive tree removal and ensure a certain number of trees in an area is maintained. It is calculated based on a property’s zoning and lot size. Find the zoning type and total lot area for individual parcels on the RMOW’s public GIS Map. The new fees to obtain a tree-cutting permit are $250 to cut up to 10 trees, and $400 to cut more than 10 trees. 

A minimum of 60 trees per hectare is set for Leisure, Residential, Rural Resources, and Tourist Pension zones; a minimum of 40 trees/ha. for Multiple Residential and Tourist Accommodation zones; and a minimum of 20 trees/ha. for Mountain Commercial, Commercial, Industrial, Lands North, Institutional and Parking zones.  

For example, using a single detached residential lot with an area of 557 square metres, you would  multiply the site area (~0.6 hectares) by the TDM of 60 trees/ha.  This formula works out to a TDM of 3.6 retained trees, rounded up to four.  

If the proposed tree cutting brings the property below the TDM, then a property owner would require a tree-cutting permit, unless exemption criteria are met. Some of the key exemptions include:  

• Where a valid RMOW permit authorizes tree cutting; 

• Reasonable construction or driveway access for permitted development; 

• High-risk trees, with clear practical standards and criteria; 

• Limited pruning and limbing consistent with clear standards and criteria for tree health, safety and wildfire mitigation; 

• Removal of invasive species; 

• Any cutting of trees up to 30 cm diameter measured at breast height within 30 m of the Highway 99 right-of-way where recommended by a FireSmart Assessment provided that the cutting does not go below the Tree Density Minimum and no Covenanted, Old, Large, Wildlife Habitat or riparian trees are cut; 

• Cutting that does not go below the calculated TDM of the subject lot, unless cutting a Significant Tree or a tree in a riparian area.  

A permit is also required when cutting a tree that meets the definition of a “Significant Tree” under the bylaw, and to cut a riparian tree within 30 m of a stream, lake, wetland or other watercourse.   

Significant Trees are afforded additional protections under the proposed bylaw and include the following:  

• Covenanted trees (>15 cm diameter measured at breast height).  

• Trees within 20 m of the Highway 99 right of way (>15 cm diameter measured at breast height). 

• Large trees (>60 cm diameter measured at breast height) 

• Old trees (trees > 15 cm diameter, measured at breast height, over 250 years old). 

• Wildlife habitat trees (trees >15 cm diameter measured at breast height known to host a raptor, heron or pileated woodpecker nest, or a bear or cougar den, regardless of occupation status).  

To obtain a permit to cut a Significant Tree, the applicant must provide support for at least one of the rationales in Section 14 of the bylaw. For example, if the Significant Tree is negatively impacting the health and survival of surrounding trees or damaging lawful infrastructure where modification of that infrastructure isn’t reasonable. Replacement trees are required for the cutting of certain Significant Trees or when the proposed cutting brings the lot below its applicable Tree Density Minimum. 

The Tree Protection Bylaw also introduces a requirement to protect the critical root zone of Significant Trees from potential impacts of construction and development activities. 

The new bylaw will support ongoing FireSmart efforts in our community.  There are no limits on removing brush, pruning, limbing ,, or cutting down trees smaller than 15 cm in diameter, if not within a riparian area.  

Development permit requirements still take precedence over the Tree Protection Bylaw, so If you want to cut down a tree on your property, the first step is to confirm whether a development permit is required. If no development permit is required, the next step is to determine whether a tree cutting permit is required under the Tree Protection Bylaw. Either a development permit or a tree cutting permit may be required, but never both and sometimes neither. 

Contact the Planning Department at planning@whistler.ca or 604-935-8170 to confirm whether a development permit is required to cut trees on a specific property.   

Click here for more information on tree cutting permits and the application process.   

Feedback and questions about the new bylaw and tree cutting permits can be sent to treecuttingpermits@whistler.ca. 

Also at the May 27 Committee of the Whole meeting, officials learned about a proposed amendment to our overarching Environmental Protection bylaw. Staff recommended several changes to the bylaw to improve administrative efficiency, fill regulatory gaps, improve enforcement options and clarify and modernize its content. Due to the number of proposed changes, staff proposed to repeal and replace the current Environmental Protection bylaw.  

Read the full report here. 

Council hears update on Northlands, Whistler Village’s largest remaining lot of developable land  

At the May 27 Committee of the Whole meeting, Council heard an update on the rezoning application for 4500 Northlands Boulevard, the largest unencumbered plot of developable land in Whistler Village.  

Submitted in 2021 by developer Beedie Living, which owns the 5.2-hectare property, the rezoning application calls for a change in use that would allow for a combination of residential townhomes, condos, and some commercial space. The rezoning application proposes building 64 townhouse units, 168 low-rise apartment units, 85 mid-rise apartment units, and 12,000 square feet of commercial space, along with strata amenity space.  

Beedie Living has committed to providing several Community Amenity Contributions in exchange for the rezoning to allow for more than 300 new housing units. Community benefits are negotiated by staff in consideration of the increase in land value anticipated to come from rezoning the property. Staff and the proponent are not yet aligned on the overall value of all the proposed amenity contributions, with Beedie Living pegging their value at $47.1 million while staff, with the help of an outside consultant, calculated the total value at $38.6 million, rather than the anticipated value of $58 million.  

While the contribution package includes value-in-kind items that are of interest, including construction and delivery of on-site employee housing, childcare spaces, community space, commercial retail units and public art, it includes components that staff feel are overvalued and/or not appropriate, including the proposed donation of Beedie Living’s sales centre to Vancouver Coastal Health after pre-sales are complete. 

At the June 10 Regular Council meeting, Council endorsed staff’s recommendation to refer the proposed rezoning and community amenities to public consultation this fall, which will include online engagement and a public open house.  

Read the full report here.

How we plan to use $2.5M in federal grant funds for housing   

At the May 27 Regular Council meeting, staff outlined how we intend to use more than $2.5 million in grant money delivered through the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation Accelerator Fund.  

Launched in 2022, the multibillion-dollar Housing Accelerator Fund is intended to create more housing supply across Canada at an accelerated pace and enhance certainty in the building approval and permit process.  

In February, Ottawa announced we were the successful recipient of up to $2,550,853.60 in housing funding. At the May 27 Council meeting, staff unveiled how the funds could be used over the length of the agreement.  

The funds must be spent by December 10, 2028, and can be invested in the following areas:  

• Housing Accelerator Fund action plans;  
• affordable housing;  
• housing-related infrastructure; and  
• community-related infrastructure that supports housing. 

As part of our action plan, staff have identified seven initiatives aimed at speeding up permit approvals and offering a variety of housing to meet the diverse needs of the community, particularly around employee housing.  

Staff have proposed earmarking a combined $380,500 for a variety of initiatives, including action plan items, the Whistler Creek West neighbourhood plan, and increasing the efficiency of our building permit process. The remaining $2,170,353 will be used as equity towards developing future employee housing projects.  

As a condition of the funding agreement, we are committed to creating the zoning capacity that could increase Whistler’s average annual rate of housing growth by at least 10 per cent and to achieve an average annual housing supply growth rate exceeding 1.1 per cent for the duration of the agreement. This equates to 372 new housing units over three years.  

“This is important work, and it’s nice to see it moving quicker,” said Mayor Jack Crompton. “I think these investments from federal and provincial governments are doing good things for housing. There’s still a ton we all need to do together to move things forward.”  

Read the full report here.  

Proposed bylaw amendment would phase out once-through water cooling systems over five years

At the June 10 Committee of the Whole meeting, Council heard about a proposed bylaw amendment that would phase out once-through water cooling refrigeration systems by the end of 2030, a measure to protect Whistler’s municipal water supply.   
  
Once-through cooling systems are commonly used in commercial cooling appliances including air conditioners, refrigerators and ice machines. Because these systems require a continuously running supply of cold water, which is then discharged into the sewer, they are considered wasteful, putting undue pressure on Whistler’s water supply.  

Once-through cooling systems require a substantial volume of water, with an average system using approximately 1.6 million litres of water per year, enough to fill half an Olympic-sized swimming pool. We are aware of at least 40 commercial locations in Whistler currently using once-through cooling systems, consuming approximately 54,000 cubic metres of water annually, enough to fill 34 Olympic pools.   

“However, there are over 200 licensed food and beverage establishments in Whistler, so the total number of systems is likely to be much higher,” explained municipal utilities manager, Chris Wike.   

Water conservation is essential to ensure potable water resources are available to residents and visitors as the resort continues to grow. This same water is also crucial for local firefighting efforts, particularly during critical summer periods when Whistler’s water supply is already heavily taxed.  

There are significant costs associated with expanding and operating our municipal water and wastewater systems to meet increases in flow. Reducing the amount of water used in Whistler will result in lower maintenance and operating costs and, in the long term, can delay or even reduce the future need for additional water infrastructure.   

“We can’t be assertive enough on water supply moving forward,” Councillor Arthur De Jong said of Whistler’s water conservation efforts.   

For business operators, although once-through systems are relatively inexpensive to install, the costs associated with constantly running water through a unit are often higher than alternative cooling methods — particularly with the RMOW’s transition to volumetric water metering, targeted for late 2026. Currently, water rates in Whistler are based on a property’s square footage. Transitioning to volumetric metering ensures a more equitable system based on an end user’s actual water use. We will be sending out mock bills later this year so operators can get a sense of what their rates will be under the new metering rates. Switching to an alternative cooling system is likely to save operators in the long term.  

Numerous jurisdictions in the U.S., particularly in hotter climates, have prohibited these systems, while several B.C. municipalities, including in Vancouver, Abbotsford, and the Capital Regional District, have followed suit. The refrigeration industry has developed alternative technologies, such as air-cooled or closed-loop water cooling systems, which use no water, or much less water than once-through systems.   

The proposed amendment to Whistler’s Once-Through Water Usage Bylaw would prohibit the installation of new once-through systems after December 31, 2025. It would also require existing once-through systems to be disconnected from the municipal water supply by the end of 2030, giving businesses time to plan accordingly.   

The bylaw amendment will be considered for first three readings at the July 22 Regular Council meeting.   

Read the full report here.   

Whistler hits second highest landfill diversion rate of last 25 years   

At the June 10 Regular Council meeting, staff updated elected officials on the progress Whistler has made towards achieving its zero waste goals.  

Waste reduction is an important focus for municipalities, as it helps conserve natural resources, minimize carbon emissions, and prevents other types of environmental pollution. Reusing and recycling materials is also an important facet of a circular economy, creating new revenue streams and jobs, and reducing supply-chain risks.  

In 2021, the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District (SLRD), which includes Whistler, released its Solid Waste Reduction Management Plan, which set a target to decrease the waste sent to landfill 80 per cent from 2019 levels to 2,368 tonnes, by 2030. Last year, Whistler generated 11,557 tonnes of landfill waste, similar to 2023. While this is far from our 2030 waste reduction target, Whistler’s per-capita disposal rate of 288 kilograms per person exceeds our goal of 350 kg/person generated by 2025 and is lower than both the average SLRD (359 kg/person) and B.C.-wide (479 kg/person) diversion rates.   

The community’s diversion rate for 2024 was 46 per cent, the second highest rate in the past quarter century. Whistler has maintained at least a 40-per-cent landfill diversion rate since 2015.  

‘We do need to keep increasing that diversion rate,” said zero waste coordinator Lauren Harrison. “One impactful thing we can do is to continue to remove food waste from the landfill waste stream.”  

Broken down by sector, commercial, institutional and multi-family residential facilities generated 72 per cent of Whistler’s landfill waste last year, followed by the construction and demolition sector, which accounted for 15 per cent, and the Nesters and Function Junction waste depots, which made up 13 per cent of all landfill waste.  

Read the full report here.  

Also at the June 10 meeting, Council approved the first three readings to Whistler’s Solid Waste Bylaw, which, if adopted, would repeal and replace an existing solid waste bylaw from 2017. The primary intent behind the new bylaw is to ensure its clarity, making it easier for residents and businesses to comply with waste management requirements.  

The proposed bylaw introduces new terms to better categorize different wood types that are received at the Whistler Transfer Station and improve diversion efforts. It also proposes to increase tipping fees from $180/metric tonne to $200/metric tonne to dispose of clean wood. For the new reusable wood category, a lower tipping fee of $150/metric tonne has been proposed to incentivise the separation of this wood type from other waste streams.  

Read the full report here.  

Council decides to keep moving on site work for Cheakamus Crossing Lot 3 without financing in place  

On June 10, Council voted to continue with site preparation work for an incoming employee housing project in Cheakamus Crossing without financing for the project secured.  

In February, Council endorsed a project plan from the Whistler 2020 Development Corporation for a 125-unit building slated for Cheakamus Crossing Lot 3. The rental project, proposed for 1600 Mount Fee Road, came with estimated cost of $64.2 million, the most expensive Whistler Housing Authority project to date.  

We have already committed $5.9 million toward the project’s equity, but $7.2 million in grant funding remains unconfirmed, with applications still being considered. Staff recommended that no work proceed beyond current site preparation until those funds are in place — or at least until an updated financial plan for the project can be presented to Council, planned for June 24.   

“The reason we are here is because the grant application requires these permits to advance for approval, so we are in a bit of a weird place with this,” Chief Administrative Officer Ginny Cullen told Council. “So, what we have now is our development permit, our building permit [for consideration]. We don’t have a finalized financing plan. We don’t have an execution of a parcel-level funding agreement. So, moving to the construction phase of the project, to me as staff, doesn’t make sense.”  

Ultimately, Council supported staff’s recommendation to continue with site work, while acknowledging the financial risk involved.  
 
“The risk that’s being highlighted here is not lost,” said Councillor Jen Ford, the former chair of the WHA. “I think we all appreciate the risk, but I also sat through four years of not building anything and that was hard for our waitlist participants. It was hard for our community. And I think we’ve moved heaven and earth over the last six years to build what we’ve built and we don’t want to pump the brakes now.”  
 
Also at the June 10 meeting, Council approved issuing a development permit for the proposed housing project at 1600 Mount Fee Road.  

Read the full report here. 

To attend an upcoming meeting, check out the Council meeting Schedule. Agendas and Minutes are available online. To connect with Council, consider Borrowing a Councillor from the Library’s Unusual Items Collection, or get in touch with them individually by phone or email.