revelstoke adventure park brief summary

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Project Summary Illecillewaet Development Limited Partnership P.O Box 963, Revelstoke, BC V0E 2S0 Telephone: (250) 837-7442 Fax: (250) 837-7424 Email: [email protected]

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A shorter summary of the proposed Revelstoke Adventure Park project summary included in Revelstoke City Council's agenda for their June 23, 2015 meeting.

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  • Project Summary

    Illecillewaet Development Limited PartnershipP.O Box 963, Revelstoke, BC V0E 2S0

    Telephone: (250) 837-7442Fax: (250) 837-7424Email: [email protected]

  • REVELSTOKE ADVENTURE PARK

    Revelstoke Adventure Park (RAP) is a one-of-a-kind summer adventure activity centre to belocated 10 km outside Revelstoke, BC. This exciting and unique development will enhanceRevelstokes and British Columbias reputations as leading outdoor adventure tourismdestinations.

    Nestled on a breathtaking site in the Selkirk Mountains, RAP is to be developed on 100 ha ofprivate land owned by Illecillewaet Development Limited Partnership (IDLP) and 257.4 ha ofadjoining Crown land, if approved. The majority of Crown land being sought is already withinRevelstoke Mountain Resorts (RMR) existing recreation tenure, but is currently not activelyused and doesnt see visitors at any time of year. Northlands Properties, the owners ofRevelstoke Mountain Resort, are longstanding partners in IDLP. Through this partnership,RMR supports IDLPs access to the Crown land that overlaps their existing tenure. This land isessentially a blank canvas waiting to be used to its full advantage.

    RAPs location is easily accessible from the Trans-Canada Highway and thus perfectlypositioned to capture both thrill-seekers and nature-admirers among the millions of people whopass through Revelstoke each summer season. RAP offers recreational activities spanning allskill levels, and there are several attractions planned that have never been seen before in BC.This unique slate of activities all in one location combined with incredibly easy access on a majornational thoroughfare makes RAP a singular offering within Canada.

    RAP will be developed in four phases over six years. The slated adventure activities will beavailable in five zones or areas: Greely Meadows, Tree Top Adventures, Ziplines, Bike Zone, andthe Bungee Centre. The table below provides an overview of the various activities that will bedeveloped and when.

  • TABLE 1: FEATURES & PHASING

    Phase One2016

    Phase Two2017

    Phase Three2018

    Phase Four2019+

    GreelyMeadows(PrivateLand)

    Design &Construction

    Temporary Base Building: Registration Building Mountain Bike Rental & Repair

    Shop Food & Beverage Facility Retail ShopRV Park & CampgroundMulti-Use TrailPump ParkMountain Shuttle Service

    Permanent Base BuildingGondola/ChairliftOGOFishpipeDriving Range

    LakeSwimmingFishingVolleyballHorseback Riding

    Tree TopAdventures

    Aerial Ropes Courses Mountain Coaster Chairlift #2

    Ziplines Valley ZiplineTrail ZiplineZipline Expansion

    Bike Zone Downhill Mountain Bike TrailsHiking TrailsExpansion of Hiking andBiking Trails

    Horseback Riding Trails

    BungeeCentre

    Bungee Jump Gondola/ChairliftSky SwingSightseeing

    Mountain LodgeRock Climbing

    Revelstoke is well positioned to capture a significant share of the booming Canadian and BritishColumbian tourism markets, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors every year looking toexplore and experience the surrounding mountains, river, lakes, and lush old-growth forests.RAP is strategically situated to showcase these natural elements as well as connect visitors to therich local history of the Canadian Pacific Railway.

    This project also offers an economic boost to the community of Revelstoke. While Revelstokesees a significant increase in highway traffic during the summer, local hotel data does not reflecta corresponding increase in overnight stays.1 The Revelstoke Visitor Centres statistics also showthat adventure recreation is the second most popular topic visitors inquire about, afteraccommodation.2 The addition of an adventure park with attractions for all ages and abilitieswill encourage additional overnight stays, and help promote Revelstoke as a travel destination.This will in turn create economic opportunities for many other Revelstoke businesses.

    Beyond increased tourism revenue, the park itself will directly create more than 200 jobs inRevelstoke, from construction and administrative needs to park operations upon opening andinto the future.

    1 Hotel Promotional Funding 2014, Revelstoke Chamber of Commerce.2 Revelstoke Visitor Centre Network Statistics Program 2011.

  • The developers of RAP call Revelstoke home, and thus recognize the importance of preservingthe natural beauty of this spectacular region of British Columbia. Both environmental and socialimpacts have been and will continue to be carefully considered in developing this project. IDLPhas been in consultation with environmental engineers to undertake preliminary studies in theproposed project area including terrain stability, archaeological, wildlife, and watershedassessments, a geotechnical report, wildfire studies, and a traffic study. Mitigation strategies toretain the integrity of the natural environment are being developed.

    Table 2 on the following page provides a summary of approved permits, applications that arecurrently being processed and preliminary studies that have been completed.

    At the end of the document a brief summary highlighting key areas of interest is also included.

  • TABLE 2: SUMMARY OF APPROVED PERMITS, APPLICATIONS IN PROCESS, AND PRELIMINARYSTUDIES

    Title DetailsExisting PermitsInvestigative Use Permit #404850

    Agricultural Land Reserve Non-FarmUse Permit

    File #53546

    CP Private Crossing Permit File #X-MOUN-119-46-F

    Sand & Gravel Permit #G-5-302 (Private Land)

    Applications In ProcessWater License Application BC Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations

    Commercial Access Permit BC Ministry of Transportation & Infrastructure

    Comprehensive Development Zone &Official Community Plan Amendment

    Columbia Shuswap Regional District to be submitted July 2015

    Preliminary StudiesTerrain Stability Assessment Onsite Engineering. In progress.

    Archaeological Assessment Ian Cameron, RPCA, Greely Property Development Preliminary FieldReconnaissance. Splatsin First Nation, Enderby, BC, 2012.

    Wildlife Assessment Giles Shearing, Wildlife Overview Assessment: Revelstoke Adventure Park:Greely, B.C. SEC Shearing Environmental Consultants, Revelstoke, BC, 2014.

    Watershed Assessment Giles Shearing, Potential Known Impacts of the Revelstoke Adventure Park onthe Greely Creek Watershed, B.C. SEC Shearing Environmental Consultants,Revelstoke, BC, 2015.

    Wildfire Study Wildfire Prevention and Response System. Spark Solutions Ltd., 2015.

    Wildfire Study Simon Hunt, WFBS, Wildfire Threat Analysis and Mitigation Report: RevelstokeAdventure Park: Greely, B.C. Spark Solutions Ltd., 2015.

    Wildfire Study Kelly Johnston, RPF, Revelstoke Adventure Park Recommended WildfireDevelopment Guidelines. Wildland Professional Solutions, Penticton, BC, 2015.

    Traffic Study EYH Consultants. In progress.

    Geotechnical Report on Bluffs Onsite Engineering. In progress.

  • Key Areas of Interest:

    Agricultural Land Commission(ALC):In September 2014 the ALC approved IDLPs application for non-farm-use for the purpose ofdeveloping a comprehensive resort commercial destination. The ALC granted the approvalstating the property has marginal agricultural capability and limited agricultural suitability.

    Columbia Shuswap Regional District (CSRD):

    An OCP amendment and a zoning application to create a Comprehensive Development (CD)zone will be submitted concurrently with this application. We have been working with staff atthe CSRD developing the CD Zone and the land use designations.

    CP Rail:A private crossing agreement has been obtained from CP Rail, which enables the Applicant, itsinvitees, employees, contractors, servants and agents to obtain ingress to and egress from theproperty owned or occupied by the Application for the purpose of accessing the Applicantscommercial business Operations situated on the Applicants lands.

    After discussions with CP Rail, it has been determined that this crossing should remain private,but that IDLP will implement control measures. The implementation of control measures for thecrossing will be phased. The final phase will be similar to the Canoe Mill crossing at 8160Trans-Canada Highway, Canoe, BC (mile marker 56.5).

    Economics:RAP will increase Revelstokes appeal as a four season destination and encourage overnightstays during the summer months.

    Although traffic on the Trans Canada Hwy doubles during the summer months, the number ofovernight visitors in Revelstoke declines. Local hotels experience a significant drop inoccupancy rates during the spring (April June) and summer (Jul Sep).

    RAP will directly create more than a 200 jobs in the community. This number only reflects theoperational needs of the Park, and does not include the jobs that will be created during thevarious construction phases and in the administrative office. Working with RMR, we hope toattract and retain qualified employees by offering employment opportunities during the summercreating year round employment.

    When considering the total economic impact of RAP, the sum of direct, indirect, and inducedeffects within the region should be considered:

  • Direct Effects:Increased sales in hotel, restaurants and retail outlets results in; increased payments for wageand salaries, supplies and services associated with increased business.

    Indirect Effects:Increased business for those that supply supplies or services to local tourism businesses.

    Induced Effects:Increased household spending directly or indirectly as a result of tourism spending

    Emergency Services:An extensive Health and Safety Plan will be developed, which will include having trained andqualified First Aid Attendants on staff to respond to incidents. Any major emergency incidentswill be responded to in the same manner as the rest of CSRD.

    Environmental:Working with Shearing Environmental Consultants (SEC) a Wildlife Study, and an assessmentof the watershed have been completed. IDLP will continue to work with SEC as thedevelopment progresses.

    First Nations:An Archeological study has been completed by the Splatsin First Nations (using a professionalArcheologist). The proposed tenure area was deemed to have low archeological potential andno further archaeological work is recommended.

    As requested by the Ktunaxa First Nation, a wildlife study was completed by SEC. IDLPcontinues to consult and work with the bands whose territories overlap the proposed tenurearea.

    Greely Watershed:The proposed tenure area boundary, at its closest point, is located 427 metres from thewatershed boundary.

    The Bungee Centre, where the majority of activities are concentrated, is 2.1 kilometres from thewatershed boundary. The activities on the Eastern side of the proposed tenure area, nearest tothe watershed, would be limited to non-motorized activities; horse trails, and mountain bikingtrails.

  • Boundaries will be well-marked to ensure our clients do not accidently enter non-tenured crownland. In comparison to the previous application in 2013, the proposed tenure boundary hasbeen moved further away from the watershed boundary.

    IDLP engaged the services of Shearing Environmental Consultants (SEC) to conduct a wildlifestudy, whilst on property SEC assessed RAPs proximity to the watershed. SEC concluded thatall recreation activities proposed for the RAP are to occur within encompassing lands (i.e.,private land and crown tenure land held by the proponent) and therefore do not pose anintrinsic risk to the watershed.

    Both Interior Health and the City of Revelstokes Director of Engineering have visited the site toview first-hand the distance and geography that separates the development from the watershed.

    RMR & Resort Branch:The proposed tenure area will overlap with Revelstoke Mountain Resorts CommercialRecreation Area. Currently RMR has not yet developed this area and it is not used by its guests.Black Tie is working closely with RMR, and they support the development. RMR have voicedtheir support of RAP in the form of Adventure Tourism Operator Input Form which isincluded in the full management plan.

    The Resort Development Branch has said they have no objections to the proposed licence areaoverlapping with RMRs Controlled Recreation Area. It is their expectation that once the ATapplication is approved that RMRs Master Development Agreement (MDA) will be amended toinclude RAP.

    In our most recent communication with Terry Pratt at the Resort Development Branch, she hassaid the Resort Branch supports the application and wants to ensure the long-term interests ofRMR are protected through appropriate tenure agreements, should there be any changes inownership of either entity.

    Transportation:Working with the Ministry of Transportation Infrastructure and EYH Engineers, a traffic studyand bridge inspection review have been conducted and the results are being finalized.