Over 225 residents and members of the business community gathered at the Sun Peaks Grand Hotel & Conference Centre on Dec. 6 to learn the latest updates from Sun Peaks Resort LLP (SPR) regarding their official Master Development Plan.
According to the Master Development Agreement (MDA) with the provincial government, the plan must be regularly updated every five to seven years. The latest version’s review process was delayed due to the pandemic and was accepted in July of this year. The master plan consists of four phases; the resort estimates they are 80 per cent through phase two with next year’s addition of the new West Bowl chairlift and current accommodation developments planned within the next two years. Phase four completion would put Sun Peaks in the top five ski resorts for capacity in North America, using existing resort numbers
Land usage changes with the existing Controlled Recreational Boundaries are “generally flexible,” according to SPR general manager Darcy Alexander, as long as skier lift capacity and bed units stay within the original plan.
The new use of Lidar, or Light Detection and Ranging, technology allowed for additional details on terrain, helping to influence a range of decisions for this update.
One such decision was the decrease of three eventual villages, down to two. Lidar showed additional challenges on the planned area of the third village, which was set to be located on the McGillivray Bench, past the existing East Village. Instead, the area will be used to build out an additional recreational area, including approximately 50 kilometers of Nordic and biking trails. The lower elevation past the East Village area will expand with higher density housing. This area also features a connecting access Transvalley Connector chairlift (an access lift, not a ski chairlift), and an extended road which will meet the existing McGillivray Forest Service road, shortening access to the recreation area.
Future plans also include four base areas, including a day base for skiers coming from the east, using the highly anticipated new road from Chase, B.C. This road has yet to be approved by multiple stakeholders at the regional and provincial levels and has no set timeline.
The updated plans also now include over 600 units of staff housing in the East Village. SPR plans to work with Sun Peaks Mountain Resort Municipality to plan these units for employees of both resort and village businesses over the years. The new East Village School and recreation area is also included. Also new is a planned commercial site in the west end of the village, including a new access road at the end of the existing Burfield Dr.
In regards to mountain infrastructure, phase four would eventually include 22 lifts. Lidar technology led to several tweaks to plans in the top alpine area, including the locations of the five planned alpine lifts. While no new commitments on chairlift developments were announced, Alexander said an update to the aging Sunburst chairlift is likely to take priority over the West Morrisey chairlift.
The new plans also included a possible significant expansion in snowmaking capabilities, adding capacity to the bottom of the four main chairlifts. Alexander acknowledged there are still significant challenges related to available water, and hinted at plans to create additional retention ponds and recycling village water.
The new master plan is available for download on SPR’s website.
Due to time constraints prior to print, SPIN will follow up on a more detailed story in the new year. Sign up for our newsletter to get the latest news updates.
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