2026 seems to be off to a great start at Sasquatch Mountain Resort.😦
There is a growing list of customer and community frustrations over SMR’s trajectory toward an increasingly uncertain future. And there are some property owners in Hemlock Valley that believe their anger, frustration, and embarrassment with SMR is reason enough to recoil from the idea of forming a non-profit organization with them. We should all shun the HVRA petition process now!
There are some Hemlock Valley homeowners that want us to continue supporting the deeply ingrained and sometimes admittedly gratifying strategy of delivering our complaints, protests, and accusations of negligence to any and all government officials that will listen. Unfortunately, this well-trodden course of action has been proven ineffective at accomplishing anything noteworthy in the past. We know this because the list of meaningful triumphs for homeowners brought about by years of using this tactic is agonizingly short and, judging by the degree of acrimony being vehemently expressed throughout the village in the last month, our quality of life on the hill has not improved.
Whether anyone chooses to believe that following the same loud assertions this time around will bring us different results or not, the fact is that burning bridges and building walls between homeowners and the Resort Operator has never brought us any enduringly positive effects.
When it comes to improving our quality of life, when it comes to giving us a stronger voice at the table, and when it comes to building something that provides homeowners with a secure revenue source regardless of what happens with Sasquatch Mountain Resort, we should stop doing the same old thing and finally support something new.
The HVRA will have a reliable, steady income stream from mandatory membership fees. The Resort Operator (regardless of who that is) is legally obligated to provide a minimum amount of $22,000.00 a year (HVRA Bylaws Part 20.1). That is 110x the $200.00 annual fee for owners of Residential Resort Lots (homeowners that don’t do short-term rentals), and it’s over 27x the annual fee for owners of our largest Residential Lodging Resort Lots (homeowners that do short-term rentals with 4+ bathrooms). This is the Resort Operator’s baseline amount. As more memberships come on-line (new subdivisions, new builds) the Resort Operator’s financial commitment increases accordingly, not yours. This is regardless of whether the resort is profitable, or not. And this stable funding can be augmented with successfully gained access to government grants.
The funds collected by the HVRA are budgeted (spent) on priorities decided upon by the association’s Board of Directors. Homeowners will hold the majority of seats on that Board. This gives us enormous influence in how investments into real projects, events, and promotions, that best support the HVRA’s disclosed purpose (HVRA Bylaws Part 3) will be made.
Will this effort benefit the Resort Operator? Yes. The HVRA will be a community-led association that is meant to benefit all of its members. There is nothing wrong with making life easier for Sasquatch Mountain Resort’s ownership, its employees, and the many customers that support them. The HVRA will have many benefits for homeowners too. We have talked at length, for example, about improving and expanding our trail networks and free public spaces. There’s more the HVRA could do, but I’m sure you’ve all heard it enough times from me before.
Something that you may not have heard enough about is how the HVRA could act like an insurance policy for homeowners. It supports the quality of life for property owners on the mountain, and it limits the risks directly associated with the ski hill’s operations. No matter what, the resort’s annual membership fee is secured for the community (HVRA Bylaws Part 20.1). The HVRA Board will assess interest charges for late, or missing, membership fees (HVRA Bylaws Part 21.6). It’s important to remember that annual increases to membership fees, as decided by the Board, cannot exceed more than 2% per year (HVRA Bylaws Part 21.7). Interest charged for late, or missing, membership fees will not have that same limit. And it’s important to remember again that homeowners will hold the majority of the seats on the Board of Directors.
Should Sasquatch Mountain Resort slip into receivership, the HVRA would have significant influence on what happens next. Because of its construction, being a unified voice for all the stakeholders involved, and having money to invest in strategies and assets, the HVRA would be directly involved in guiding the mountain’s future. With power that we gave ourselves.
Should the Resort Operator choose to sell his stake in Sasquatch Mountain Resort, any new investor(s) will arrive to an already established, legally binding, provincially protected, contractual arrangement with Hemlock Valley homeowners. The membership fee structure will remain in place, representation on the Board of Directors will stay the same, and the HVRA’s mandate will continue as before.
The influence, protections, and representation built into the proposed HVRA exist only because this work is happening now. If this effort fails, there is no reason to believe the Resort Operator will fund or revisit it again. The decision homeowners make today will shape who holds leverage on this mountain for decades to come. Not establishing the HVRA now will leave homeowners with no money for community priorities, no prominence in community development, and no obligation for the Resort Operator to change a single thing.
The opportunity to establish the Hemlock Valley Resort Association is a huge gamechanger for our recreational and financial investments on the mountain. There are four other resort associations on BC ski hills, and they have all been (and continue to be) successful in fulfilling their mandates in their respective communities. None of them are built to be nearly as homeowner centric as the HVRA will be. That’s because our economy continues to be so undeveloped. We have the resort, the Sts’ailes, and the homeowners to consider. No commercial interests. No hotel lodging interests. Nothing.
The Hemlock Valley Resort Association is us building power for ourselves. Positive results accomplished!
For today and for a better future, sign your petition and send it in. Your grandchildren will thank you.
