City planning officials say they will recommend the development of the proposed Porter Creek D subdivision when the matter is presented to city council on Monday night.

The dire need for housing in the community is at the heart of the decision, they say.

The city's 20-year projections state Whitehorse has already grown at a rate of 2.6 per cent per year over the last six years. To keep up future growth, the city claims about 6,000 units of housing wil have to be constructed over a 20-year period.

The planners noted that in attempting to address that need, they have faced serious opposition.

"The city has experienced significant push back to development and these proposals,” Mike Gau, the city's manager of planning, told reporters Tuesday afternoon.

"Everywhere we propose development we face opposition, and this has contributed to the lot shortage in Whitehorse and consequentially the $455,000 average housing price today,” Gau said.

Porter Creek D could be a step toward curbing the trend.

If done responsibly, Porter Creek D is in line with the values of the community, the city has concluded.

These "community values”, the city says, were gleaned though an open house, attended by about 200 people, and through the collection of 533 pieces of input, received through e-mail, letters and comment sheets and presented to city council for review.

Wildlife protection was a major priority.

The city believes the environmental impact of development in Porter Creek D is manageable, and that development could be achieved with acceptable environmental impacts. The evidence of this, officials say, is outlined in a corridor study, published this fall by Environemental Dynamics Inc. (EDI), a B.C.-based environmental consulting firm.

"As a movement corridor, middle McIntyre is not critical for regional populations of wildlife and it does not connect isolated populations,” said Graeme Pelchat, a wildlife biologist with EDI.

"The development of Porter Creek D will cause reduction in available habitat for resident and seasonal species, for example birds, and reduce space for large animals to move through the area, but the use of this area by large wildlife has already been compromised, and it is not our opinion that the area should be managed for large wildlife.”

The organization also points out that large animals such as bears found in the area are usually trapped and sent away anyway.

EDI has, however, proposed three suggestions to facilitate sustainable development in the area. Those include creating a primary and secondary corridor to maintain wildlife movement and habitat, managing recreational use in the area and building another creek crossing to facilitate wildlife movement.

Conservation and the use of existing resources was also a top priority for the community.

Porter Creek D is bordered by the Alaska Highway and Mounainview Drive, both of which carry about 10,000 vehicles per day. The proposed development is also bordered by Yukon College and will soon share a border with the planned Whistle Bend subdivision.

"From the EDI report, over 90 per cent of the activity in the area noted reported and documented is human, not wildlife,” said city manager Dennis Shewfelt.

"Essentially, what we are trying to do is minimize the expansion of the city's development footprint by focusing that development footprint in the already disturbed areas as much as possible.”

There are not many areas like Porter Creed D left in the city, added Shewfelt.

"We are literally in a mountain valley here and we are subject to its topography, soils and so forth, and the soil and the slopes that we have are not necessarily particularly stable,” he said. "The easy development areas have pretty much been exhausted.”

Shewfelt pointed out that the west side of the Yukon River has seen a great deal of development. Soon, the city may have to expand to the east side at significant environmental impact and expense to taxpayers, he said.

"In and of itself, Porter Creek D is not a large development, if it goes ahead. But the consequence of not having it means we will have to go someplace else,” he said.

City planners also believe the proposed road over McIntyre Creek to serve the development would reduce traffic on the already congested roads to Porter Creek. Failure to develop there may result in greater congestion on secondary routes like Wann Road.

There are areas of the plan which are less thought out.

The city will not, for instance, be taking into consideration the type of housing that would be built in the area while making its decision on whether to go ahead with development.

"With regards to the type of housing and cost, that all has to wait for a design and plan to be developed with the public and adopted by council,” said Gau.

"That's part of the challenge that we don't have that information available right now. We are still confirming that council is ready to move forward with the planning and design at this point.”

Opponents of the development say it's planning deficiencies like this that call the whole proposition into question.

"I think it is premature for one city department to have their minds made up,” Christina MacDonald, the wildlife co-ordinator with the Yukon Conservation Society, told the Star today.

"From my understanding, they got a huge influx of comments, the vast majority of which expressed concerns or outright resistance to the project. The city talk about facing opposition to development, but the other word there is ‘valuable criticism,' ” she said.

There is also some skepticism as to whether the development will adequately address the community's housing needs.

"Whistle Bend may help the housing situation, but I doubt if the 200 or 300 houses planned for Porter Creek D will make much of a difference,” said MacDonald.

"The major issue in this community is a lack of affordable housing, and with the development planned for such a beautiful area, it's difficult for me to believe that they won't be looking for top dollar.”

And though the area may not be a vital animal habitat, it shouldn't undercut the importance of the region to a variety of species either, MacDonald said.

"Certainly, animals live there year-round,” she said. "We are talking about seasonal animals like birds as well as a vast and diverse population of other species. This isn't an altruistic attempt to develop within an already developed area. It's urban sprawl.”

In the face of this opposition, the issue of developing Porter Creek D has become a major priority for candidates in Thursday's byelection.

A recent poll conducted by the conservation society states that of 13 candidates, eight openly oppose development in the area, while five support the development. Candidates Patrick Singh and Harry Hrebien did not state their position to the society.

The plan to develop the area will be presented to city council on Monday night. Council will vote on the matter Dec. 12.

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