The SLRD approved $13,000 in March for a maintenance project that may not have been legal.
The Squamish-Lillooet Regional District (SLRD) agreed in March to provide funding for the maintenance of Furry Creek’s public open spaces, though it turns out those spaces were actually on private property.
So, the SLRD are now redirecting to a new funding agreement, in the interest of community safety and liability.
What happened?
At the SLRD board meeting on March 25, $13,000 from the SLRD’s Electoral Area D amenity funds was granted unanimously for the beaches, trails, and open spaces maintenance project at Furry Creek, but the board amended the wording of the project’s corresponding bylaw on passing the motion.
As noted in the SLRD’s staff report from April 22 – 23, the wording of the Furry Creek Public Open Space Maintenance Service Establishment Bylaw No. 977-2006—which defines the service as “for the purpose of maintaining public open spaces identified within the service area”—was amended by the board to “public beaches, trails and open spaces.”
What’s the problem?
It turns out that despite funding requests from the Furry Creek Community Association (FCCA) to the SLRD since 2016, and the SLRD’s considerations for “due diligence” (in requesting mapping of the maintenance service area to the FCCA, following the meeting on March 25), the trails—used by the public—within that service area belong to private landowner Fine Peace, who own the Furry Creek Golf and Country Club.
The FCCA’s mapping, included within the report, drew three conclusions:
- The land is privately owned;
- The land is currently publicly accessible (and an important access path to the public beach);
- Staff are not aware of a current use and maintenance agreement between the private land owner (Fine Peace) and the FCCA.
In the SLRD’s board meeting on April 22, general manager of infrastructure and environmental services Omar Butt, and general manager of planning and development services Claire Dewar, explained the terms of this current use and maintenance agreement: that the Local Government Act (LGA) generally restricts regional districts from assisting private businesses, in this case, Fine Peace.
“Fine Peace is meant to build and maintain trails to the satisfaction of the SLRD. Some of the trails listed in the proposal may be transferred to the SLRD in the future, and some would likely remain with Fine Peace as private land,” Butt said.
According to the staff report, section 273 of the LGA contains “specific mechanisms” for grants that can involve private corporations, provided the expenditure serves a public purpose, or reaches a regional district’s objective.
However from a financial perspective, the report continues, “it is not recommended to invest public funds into the upkeep of privately owned land. It could be recommended with proper policy, agreements, and/or partnership in place.”
The report states that the SLRD had four options:
- Do not provide the requested funding to the FCCA.
- Refer this matter to staff to bring back more information.
- Provide the requested funding to the FCCA.
- Other, as directed by the Board.
What did the SLRD discuss?
In the meeting on April 22, Electoral Area D director Tony Rainbow called the situation “incongruous,” given how the SLRD have funded the FCCA’s trails for at least the last 12 years, recalling that access to the beach (a legal requirement) had been “taken away,” and that the Furry Creek community “has taken up the slack and done some things.”
The FCCA, he said, had agreed for the SLRD to develop a safe trail over the car path on the Ministry of Transportation and Transit (MOTT) right-of-way, leading people to the dike from where they can access the beach.
Rainbow said the SLRD specifically contributed towards the (now paved) dike, which the public use “all the time.”
“It seems to me that if we’re just maintaining rights of way, we’re not contravening any kind of laws that say we can’t help,” Rainbow said, in response to a query from District of Squamish director Chris Pettingill about whether a right of way could be considered a “legal mechanism.”
Butt said that, from his understanding, the dike has not been transferred to the SLRD for maintenance at this time, as part of the development agreement with Fine Peace to be transferred in the future.
Rainbow elaborated that the Furry Creek Public Open Space Maintenance Service Establishment Bylaw No. 977-2006 was not sufficiently detailed, unlike more recent bylaws presented to the SLRD, and that this bylaw is thereby outdated.
Reviewing options
Rainbow suggested Option 3 noted in the staff report: to provide the requested funding to the FCCA.
Otherwise, he said, maintenance will fall on community volunteers, which would call the liability of the SLRD into question. He also suggested that as part of the SLRD’s budgeting process for next year, the SLRD should look towards amending the outdated bylaw to incorporate the service area in question, and negotiate agreements with Fine Peace.
Option 2 (to redirect the matter to staff for legal review,) was also discussed. Capacity for this, according to Village of Pemberton mayor and director Mike Richman, would take 40 hours between senior management, and bump other SLRD priorities over the course of two to three months.
The staff report notes that the board may direct staff to research potential legal options that include FCCA entering into a use agreement with the private landowner, which would mean “deprioritizing current work in the queue,” since legal review does not fall under the SLRD’s 2026 work plan.
To not provide the funding, Richman said, would leave things “within the air,” but the SLRD may be liable and vulnerable if no agreement is put in place prior to providing the funding.
Both Dewar and District of Squamish director (and mayor) Armand Hurford agreed that such a prior agreement would be best.
“I don’t want to repeat past mistakes, so I’d really appreciate the time to go through legal and have a proper improvement before this funding is set,” Dewar said.
It was agreed the cost centre as a whole for the maintenance services, which covers the north side of Furry Creek, would be analyzed in a separate motion to the beach access trails, else review of agreements would take far longer than anticipated.
Outcome
Rainbow’s motion to provide funding for trail maintenance failed, with no votes from other staff, and the motion to redirect senior board staff to legal review and to work on new agreements carried, with opposition only from Rainbow.
Folks can watch meetings in full and view staff reports on the SLRD’s website.
Ina Pace is The Squamish Chief’s Local Journalism Initiative (LJI) reporter.
This reporting was produced through the LJI, which supports original civic journalism across Canada.
By Ina Pace, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Original Published on May 08, 2026 at 11:07
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