Bridal Falls – It has been a quiet few months in the news for the proposed Cascades Skyline Gondola Project.
At least in public.
Behind the scenes, Cheam First Nation has reached an agreement to purchase the nearby golf course lands independently of Bridal Falls Gondola Corp.This is integral to the development of the project and it is hoped the sale will be final something in the spring of 2023.
Again stressing that various regulators and permits are in flux and this is no where near a final outcome.
The details were posted to the Facebook page Cascade Skyline Gondola:
Here is a brief summary of significant updates and progress to date:
Our team have been working diligently reviewing the final phase of the Provincial referral process and moving into the final project decision process. While we don’t know what the specific timeline is for the final decision, we expect to receive the tenure approval early in the 1st quarter of 2023, given the broad support and continued endorsement by the City of Chilliwack, City of Kent/Agassiz, Cheam First Nation, Skwah First Nation and Kwa Kwa Apilt and the many other stakeholders including Indigenous Tourism BC, CEPCO, Chilliwack Outdoor Club, Tourism Industry Assoc of BC, etc.
We have also begun our discussions with the Fraser Valley Regional District (FVRD) on rezoning and other approvals, and we will begin the formal application for rezoning as soon as we have the final update and clarity from the Province on he tenure process.
● Cheam First Nation has reached an agreement to purchase the nearby golf course lands independently of Bridal Falls Gondola Corp. This is a significant action by the Cheam First Nation on behalf of the CSGP as it is a commitment of additional millions of $ in investment. This represents an important consideration for the Province and other regulatory agencies. The Gondola project base location is planned on these lands.
● For the project tenure, the Provincial referral period has closed for both public and agency comments regarding our updated Project Overview document that was filed in June. First Nations referral comments are yet to come but the official closing date for comments has passed. Continued conversations with the Province over the coming weeks will take place to detail any last referral comments and responses. After the closure of the referral period, the Province has regrettably been unable to provide a definitive timeline as to when they would render a decision or advise on additional information requests. However, this should be the last review stage before a final decision will be made by the Province. We are hopeful it will be before spring 2023.
● The recent meeting with the FVRD to review the project base area rezoning application and detailed work to be in addition to the revision of the next steps in their rezoning approvals process. We expect to get some clarity from the FVRD in early January.
