The Canada Winter Games athletes' village building that will be handed over to the Yukon Housing Corp. has not yet been zoned in such a way to permit tenant occupancy.

The two $34-million buildings that will serve as the athletes' village during the Feb. 23-March 10, 2007 Games are zoned as public services.

One building will be handed over to Yukon College following the Games with the plan of using it as a student-family residence. It will be able to maintain its zoning as public services, falling under the category of institutional services, said Lesley Cabott, Whitehorse's manager of planning and development services.

The other structure, which will be turned over to the Yukon Housing Corp., will need to be rezoned to accommodate its expected use as multi-residential affordable housing, said Cabott.

It's a process that could take up to six months to complete. It will require an amendment to the city's Official Community Plan, amending the zoning bylaw, two public hearings and city council making a decision, she said.

The government has not yet even begun the process, despite previous statements of hoping to have the building ready for tenants by May 1, 2007.

'The cart's before the horse here,' said acting NDP Leader Steve Cardiff.

'They built a building, with a temporary purpose with an end use in mind. They didn't apply for the zoning before they started the building. To do it afterwards is a little arrogant in thinking that the City of Whitehorse is just going to roll over.'

There haven't been any discussions with the Yukon government regarding the use of the building beyond its existence as an athletes' village, said Cabott.

But it is not something the city will be able to simply rubber stamp for the government, she said, adding there are very specific timelines about public notification and hearings.

'You have to go through the process.'

On Monday, Cardiff asked Yukon Housing Corp. Minister Jim Kenyon when the process will begin and 'what he plans to do if the City of Whitehorse exercises its lawful authority and turns down that zoning application.'

Exactly what the building will be used for hasn't even been decided yet, said Kenyon.

It is a decision that must be made by the corporation's board and that '...they have considered all options as well as the zoning options and zoning problems...' he added.

The building may be used for housing at fixed market value or it may be used as social housing, said Kenyon.

The basement is uninhabitable and its potential use as business or office space must also be determined.

The board is scheduled to meet on Friday, but it is not known if it will be making a decision on the building's use at that time.

Kenyon said the exact use of the units may not be made by the board of directors for another two months.

'There are no concerns about the zoning,' Kenyon later told the Star. 'They have it under control.'

Doing it earlier wouldn't have made sense because the use of the structure had not yet be 100 per cent decided on, he said.

'There's no urgency in this,' said Doug Caldwell, the Yukon Housing Corp. spokesman. 'It's a government building, built on government property.'

JoAnne Harach, the building's project manager, agreed, saying government buildings are permitted as institutional and fall under public services.

She added the basement may be used for extended medical treatment services or health services, which also fall under public services.

'First and foremost, these are government buildings,' said Harach. 'They are both government buildings and both are allowed under public service zoning.'

'Ownership doesn't matter; it's the use and the Yukon government is subject to the Official Community Plan,' said Cabott.

Before tenants move into the 48 suites, it must be rezoned to residential multiple housing, she said, and depending on what is decided to occupy the lower levels, a special zoning may even be needed.

'It's a question of dropping the ball and it's time to pick it up and make things right here so when the Canada Winter Games are over, the building can function the way it's supposed to,' said Cardiff.

Harach said the project always knew there was 'the potential' the building may need to be rezoned.

'I, personally, in reading the bylaw, questioned why one residential building needed rezoning when another building next to it didn't need rezoning,' she said.

College residences also aren't listed under public services, said Harach, but already are on the land.

'It's OK to have new residences for the college, but not OK for anything else.'

The Yukon College building, however, is allowed to operate as a residence because it is attached to the academic institution, said Cabott. The Yukon Housing Corp. building is not.

'Multi-family resident is not permitted,' she said.

'They need to be working with the City of Whitehorse in ensuring that this piece of property is zoned appropriately for the use that it's going to get in the end. That work doesn't appear to have been done. It doesn't even appear to have been started and time's running out,' said Cardiff.

Filing paperwork with the city shouldn't be done until all the information is available, said Harach.

'We'll do it as expediently as we can,' she said. 'We will go through the due process to make sure everything is correct to the way zoning is.'

And as for the lengthy process and the previous hope of having the building ready for tenants by May, Harach added, 'We've done a lot of things that have beaten the base case scenario.'