Don't Build It So They Don't Come

It's been a while since I've posted here at Mr. Anchovy's. Usually, I write about flora and fauna here in my little corner of BC, and today I'm going to not going to deviate from that too much by bringing to your attention a local Rossland controversy: the building of a huge new golf course in a currently wooded area near Granite Mountain on our local ski hill.

Already, Red Mountain has seen enormous development with something like 3000 units (i.e. condos) either built or going to be built. The effects of this are both aesthetic and impact negatively on the environment, as well as pissing of some locals because of a rise in taxes. Aesthetically, the abundance of condos now blocks out any decent view of the mountain and makes the area look like a high-priced, exclusive slum, with buildings on top of buildings and very little room for anything else (like, say, a parking lot for hill users to park while they ski). Environmentally, 3000 units requires enormous sewer upgrades and a huge increase in water consumption. Locals are pissed because their property taxes have increased in order to fund the upgrades. Housing prices have also risen sharply due to development and Rossland is swiftly becoming a place where only the wealthy are going to be able to afford to live. The rental market sucks and there is no affordable housing for those who need it.

So now, a new golf course is being proposed for the ski hill. This will involve clearing a huge swath of land, obviously, but there is also more development proposed as well, including 310 new homes, a conference centre/hotel/spa, and a golf academy.

This is the most ludicrous, environmentally irresponsible idea you could possibly put forth in this area. The proposed golf course will be built right in Rossland's watershed. The current watershed, predominantly coming from Topping Creek, barely provides enough water for the town as it is. By August, reservoir levels are extremely low and water restrictions become especially keen for those of us in town. According to this, the average North American golf course consumes 400 million litres of water annually. For six months (the other six being ski months at Red), that would be 200 million litres of water. Where is this supposed to come from? Not to mention the pesticides and crap they use to keep the greens unnaturally green. The runoff from that will also go into local creeks and waterways.

This is in no way a viable project. We already have way too much development up at the ski hill as it is (it's hideous, too), and recently the local golf course has just expanded to 18 holes from 9, and put in a new housing development. Do we really need another golf course? I say NO. There is a lot of rhetoric in town about this proposed golf course, and there is a petition at many downtown businesses for people sign. I have put my name on it, and I hope it makes the statement to city council it needs to.