Squamish council rejects permit for Woodfibre LNG floatel
Squamish District council, voting on April 30, has denied, for now, a temporary use permit (TUP) for Woodfibre LNG’s worker accommodation floatel, citing concerns over the safety of women and girls, among other issues, that were expressed at an earlier public meeting.
In a somewhat convoluted process, the 7-member council initially voted against a motion to reject outright Woodfibre LNG's TUP application. That vote was 4-3 against rejecting the application.
A second motion was then put forward to issue a temporary one-year TUP with an option to renew. That motion was also defeated, again in a 4-3 vote.
According to local media reports, many in Squamish expressed concerns over the impact the 652-room floatel, fashioned from the converted cruise ship MV Isabelle, would have on the safety of women and girls, traffic issues, waste management and potential natural hazards.
The $100mn floatel arrived off the coast of BC earlier this year and is intended to be moored at the Woodfibre LNG project site in Howe Sound, seven km from Squamish. Workers would be ferried to the floatel from the Lower Mainland by water taxi and would have firm restrictions on access to Squamish.
“We were disappointed with the District Council’s non-decision on the zoning temporary use decision for the floatel,” Woodfibre LNG CEO Christine Kennedy said in a statement emailed to NGW. “The District has asked repeatedly since 2019 – to the company and to regulators – that the Woodfibre LNG project workforce be housed outside Squamish, which is exactly what the floatel delivers.”
Woodfibre LNG’s plans for the floatel have already been approved by federal, provincial and Squamish Nation regulators, Kennedy said, and she noted that the District Council is aware that the BC government has final jurisdiction over floatel-related management plans.
She said construction at the Woodfibre LNG site is continuing, and the company will continue to work with Squamish District “on a path forward” for the TUP zoning application, which District staff has already recommended should be approved.
“In a community that welcomes tens of thousands of visitors each year, the rhetoric of some council members directed toward the skilled craft workers that will make up the project’s workforce seems out of place,” Kennedy said. “These men and women are simply looking to do a good job, feed their families and have a safe and comfortable place to live while minimising any disruption that an approved project could have on the community – if these people visited as tourists, they would be welcomed.”
According to local media reports, any of those who voted against issuing the TUP, or the mayor, can return a motion for reconsideration within 30 days.