City council will be voting on a proposal to build a 1,500-square-metre, three-storey, 80-room hotel that contravenes Whitehorse's Official Community Plan (OCP).

The hotel was proposed by local businessman Gordon Clark. He told council in September that he would like to build the hotel across the Alaska Highway from the Whitehorse airport to contribute to the city's growing tourism industry.

'We are competing against every other destination that tourists can choose to go to,' Clark told council in September.

'There is no reason that we shouldn't offer this kind of service,' he said. An airport hotel is needed if the city wants to increase its tourism capacity, he added.

In an interview this morning, city planning manager Lesley Cabott, who recommended that council bring the proposal through the bylaw process, said the planned hotel does contravene the spirit of the city's OCP.

'The OCP says that development shouldn't be on the highway,' she said. 'From a planning perspective, we like to see development downtown.'

Cabott said she doesn't have a position on the development and recommended the proposal go forward so it could receive due consideration.

Cabott also presented council with an analysis of the proposal that was created after council heard opposition to the proposal from a delegate at last week's meeting.

In the analysis, city officials state:

ï Approving the proposal could set a precedent, leading to more development on the Alaska Highway.

ï Views from a portion of Hillcrest would be obstructed by any development and a three-storey development would have an even greater impact.

ï The intent of the OCP is to have all major commercial development centred in the downtown core.

In an interview this morning, Coun. Doug Graham said he will speak against the development because he's afraid that it could lead to more development on the highway but that he feels the majority of council would favour the initiative.

'There are too many things that stand out that say we shouldn't do it.

'I'm going to vote against it, but I know I'm going to lose on this one,' Graham said.

In a separate interview this morning, Mayor Ernie Bourassa said he favours the proposal.

He said while the proposal contravenes the intent of the city's OCP, he feels that amending the OCP would be acceptable in this case.

'The intent of the OCP was to limit big box stores from locating themselves on the highway. I don't think the intent was to prevent hotels.

'I don't see any space downtown for this kind of development,' he said. 'If anyone does know of a space downtown, I encourage them to come forward.'

Bourassa said while he hasn't seen any plans yet, he understands that Clark will seek to make the hotel part of a well-known chain.

Whitehorse Chamber of Commerce president Rick Karp said, in general, he favours hotel development in Whitehorse to increase the city's capacity to handle tourists.

'We need to develop capacity to attract more visitors,' he said.

The city requires higher-quality hotels to lure visitors other than those coming through town in cars or RVs, Karp added.

'We're still focusing on the rubber tire trade,' he said.

If the hotel on the highway was of 'sufficient quality,' he said, it could attract people from the lucrative baby boomer retiree market who are known to spend large amounts of money when travelling.

'This is the most educated, affluent group of retirees in the history of the world,' Karp said. The retirees will be seeking out higher-end hotels than are currently offered in the city.

Jen Houtby, the Yukon Convention Bureau's managing director, said she is interested in increasing Whitehorse's hotel capacity but that she wants more information on the proposal before speculating as to the impacts of a highway development.

However, Houtby did say that if a chain hotel is being proposed, it's unlikely it would be considered a higher-end facility and would likely cater to highway tourists such as those driving through the Yukon in RVs.